Claims
- 1. A method for manufacturing an apparatus for use in percutaneous surgery on the spine of a patient, comprising the steps of:
- (a) measuring a distance from the lamina of a spinal vertebra to the skin of the patient;
- (b) determining a first portion of a length of a cannula to be less than the distance measured in step (a), the first portion for introduction into the patient;
- (c) determining a second portion of the length of the cannula to be about one-fourth (1/4) of the length of the first portion, the second portion external to the patient; and
- (d) providing the cannula having the length determined according to steps (b) and (c).
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cannula includes a circular cross-section along the length of the cannula.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the length of the second portion is less than about 30 millimeters.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
- (e) providing a tool having an elongated shaft and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough, wherein the cannula provided in step (d) includes a working channel that permits the longitudinal axis of the tool to be angled between 5 degrees and 8 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cannula.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cannula has a dimension transverse to its length, and further comprising:
- (e) determining the length of the cannula to also be between 5.5 to 7.0 times greater than the transverse dimension.
- 6. A method for performing percutaneous surgery on the spine of a patient, comprising the steps of:
- (a) measuring a distance from a spinal body to the skin of the patient;
- (b) determining a first portion of a length of a cannula to be less than the distance measured in step (a), the first portion for introduction into the patient;
- (c) determining a second portion of the length of the cannula to be about one-fourth (1/4) of the length of the first portion, the second portion external to the patient; and
- (d) providing the cannula having the length determined according to steps (b) and (c).
- 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the cannula includes a circular cross-section along the length of the cannula.
- 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the length of the second portion is less than about 30 millimeters.
- 9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:
- (e) providing a tool having an elongated shaft and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough, wherein the cannula provided in step (d) includes a working channel permitting the longitudinal axis of the tool shaft to be angled between 5 degrees and 8 degrees with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cannula.
- 10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the cannula has a dimension transverse to its length, and further comprising determining the length of the cannula to also be between 5.5 to 7.0 times greater than the transverse dimension.
- 11. The method according to claim 6, wherein step (a) includes measuring the distance from the lamina to the skin.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/736,626, filed on Oct. 24, 1996, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,231, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/620,933, filed on Mar. 22, 1996, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,044; each entitled "Devices and Methods for Percutaneous Surgery."
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Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
736626 |
Oct 1996 |
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