1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical trocars, and in particular to trocars designed to puncture and pass through skin and provide a drain after surgery without snagging or tearing the skin around the puncture.
2. Description of Related Art
Wikipedia defines a trocar as a hollow cylinder with a sharply pointed end, often three-sided, that is used to introduce cannulas and other similar implements into blood vessels or body cavities. Trocars are also used as ports in laparoscopic surgery.
The trocar is often passed inside a cannula, and functions as a portal for the subsequent placement of other devices, such as a chest drain, intravenous cannula, etc. Surgical trocars are used for laparoscopic surgery. They can be a means of introduction for laparoscopic hand instruments, e.g., scissors and graspers, to do surgery previously done by making a large abdominal incision. Surgical trocars are usually a single-patient-use instrument, and have graduated from three point designs to flat bladed dilating-tips, or ones that are entirely blade free.
Trocars are also used near the end of the embalming process to provide drainage of bodily fluids and organs after the vascular replacement of blood with embalming chemicals. It is attached to a suction hose, in a process of removing organs known as aspiration.
Surgical trocars resemble large, very sharp, needles with surgical tubing attached to the back end. The tubing is perforated to promote drainage along its distal length. The surgeon forces the point of the trocar out from inside a wound near the opening that will be sutured later. The sharp end of the trocar is too dangerous and difficult to pull out through the skin directly, so conventional products include a sheath inside a handle that will receive and lock on to the trocar's sharp tip. This then protects the surgeon and all others from being poked or jabbed by the bloody tip, and provides a large handle for the surgeon to tug on. See, FIGS. 8A-8C in U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,039, issued to Robert S. Namba, and paragraphs [0173] and [0179] of Publication No. US 2004/0092891, published May 13, 2004.
Prior art trocars invariably include a groove around the tip for the sheath and handle to lock onto. But such grooves will often snag the skin of the patient and tear.
Briefly, a surgical trocar embodiment of the present invention includes a trocar needle with a sharp tip for puncturing and passing through the skin of a patient. A hose barb disposed on a distal end of the trocar needle retains a drain tubing while they are being threaded through a skin puncture. A head formed aft of the tip of the trocar needle has a locking ridge that provides a grip. A tapered section of the trocar needle is disposed aft of the head and has its minimum diameter adjacent to the locking ridge, and its maximum diameter in the direction of the hose barb.
An advantage of the present invention is that a surgical trocar is provided that substantially reduces any snagging or tearing of a patient's skin around an associated skin puncture during use.
Another advantage of the present invention is that a trocar is provided that is safe for the surgeon and others to use.
The above and still further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The tapered section 108 is important in that there is no groove formed aft of the ridge 106 that can snag and tear the patient's skin when the needle 102 is being pushed through by a surgeon.
A trocar receiver 118 (
In one embodiment, the round guard 128 was 45-mm in outside diameter, had a 12-mm hole in the center like a sheet-metal fender washer, and was 1-mm thick aluminum. The handle 130 was diamond-pattern knurled aluminum, 18-mm in diameter, and 85-mm long.
The trocar receiver 118 will essentially lock permanently onto the trocar needle 102, and they both are disposed of after a single use. The handle 130 will keep the sharp tip 104 safe inside so as not to create a sharps hazard that is already a bio-hazard and contaminated by blood, tissues, and fluids after use.
In use, the parts of trocar system 100 will probably arrive disassembled, as in
Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, such was not intended to limit the invention. Modifications and changes will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art, and it was intended that the invention only be limited by the scope of the appended claims.