Medical tools for small incision eye surgery

A medical tool for implanting a tissue in an eye of a patient, comprising:

• a tubular body having opposing first and second end portions, the first end portion having a leading forward open end with a width that is between about 3 mm to about 6 mm, wherein the second end portion of the elongate body is configured to releasably engage a fluid source;
• a flexible carrier substrate configured to be retracted to enter the leading end of the tubular body while holding implantable tissue;
• a tubular inner fluid delivery member in the tubular body configured to provide flow-through irrigation during implantation of the implantable tissue;
• and
• a user control mechanism in communication with the flexible carrier substrate that is configured to retract the flexible carrier into the tubular body, wherein the flexible carrier substrate is configured to have a flat configuration outside the tubular body to hold the implantable tissue thereon during loading and is configured to automatically take on a rolled configuration while holding the implantable tissue as the flexible substrate conformably holds the implantable tissue and is retracted into the leading end of the tubular body, and wherein, during delivery, a user manually moves the user control mechanism to cause the tool to release the implantable tissue from the leading end of the tubular body while fluid is emitted by the tubular inner fluid delivery member into an anterior chamber of the eye.

A medical tool for implanting a tissue graft having an endothelial side in an eye of a patient, comprising:

• an elongate body having opposing first and second end portions and a fluid flow path therebetween, the first end portion of the elongate body holding a first cannula on a leading end thereof defining a cavity with a forward open end having a width that is between about 3 mm to about 6 mm, the first cannula slidably attached to a second tubular cannula that is behind and concentrically aligned with the first cannula, and wherein the second end portion of the elongate body is configured to releasably engage a fluid source wherein the first cannula is configured to releasably hold the tissue graft in a rolled configuration inside the first cannula;
• a flexible carrier substrate configured to retract into the first cannula to change from a planar shape outside the elongate body into a rolled shape inside the first cannula while supporting the tissue graft and forcing the tissue graft into the rolled shape as the flexible carrier holding the tissue graft is retracted to reside inside the first cannula with the endothelial side facing away from the flexible carrier substrate;
• a tubular inner fluid delivery member forming part of the fluid flow path in the tool to allow for flow-through irrigation, wherein the fluid delivery member has an open leading end and is concentric with the first and second cannulas;
• and
• an externally accessible user control mechanism held by the elongate body in communication with the first cannula, whereby, during use, a user moves the control mechanism to uncover and/or unroll the tissue graft from the tool thereby allowing placement of the tissue graft in a desired position and orientation in an anterior chamber inside the eye of the patient while fluid is emitted by the fluid delivery member into the anterior chamber of the eye.