1990-03-30
1991-07-30
Coven, Edward M.
Surgery
Truss
Perineal
128 11, A61B 1702
Patent
active
050352326
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a retractor with a retractor blade, a handle, a fiber-optical light guide for illuminating the point of engagement of the retractor and a connector for connecting a fiber-optical cable to the fiber-optical light guide, with the fiber-optical light guide comprising a bent, tubular sheath which extends through the handle and along part of the retractor blade and in which a glass fiber bundle is embedded.
Retractors are known wherein a plastic retractor blade is directly connected to a fiber-optical light guide so that light is conducted through the plastic blade to the front edge at which it exits (EP-B1 101 781). Such an instrument is normally used as a disposable, plastic product which is not resterilizable. In other known instruments of this kind, the handle can be used again, but the plastic blades are designed as disposable parts (DE-OS 33 01 890).
In other known retractors, a handle through which there extends a tube accommodating a fiber bundle is formed directly on the retractors. This tube is firmly soldered or welded to the metallic retractor (company prospectus "Fiberoptics for Surgery" Applied Fiberoptics, Inc., 0219/81, pages 5 et seq. ). The tube mounted on the blade can cause limited vision, and, in addition, the soldered joints produce corners and edges which make proper cleaning from a hygienic point of view difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to so improve a retractor of the kind described at the begining that all parts of the instrument are resterilizable and that simple disassembly of the instrument into its individual parts for sterilization purposes is possible.
This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention in a retractor of the kind described at the beginning in that the sheath comprises fixing elements for detachably securing the retractor blade on the sheath, and in that the handle is positioned loosely on the rear end of the sheath and fixed in this position by a detachable holding element. Hence the sheath accommodating the bundle of optical fibers forms a support for the retractor having secured thereon, on the one hand, detachably the retractor blade and, on the other hand, by simple positioning thereon, a handle part which is detachably fixable on the sheath. The parts can be taken apart in a simple way, and all the individual parts can then be cleaned and resterilized in a simple manner, with none of the parts having resesses or edges to raise cleaning or sterilizing problems.
A particularly secure positioning of the retractor blade is obtained when the sheath has a plane contact surface for the retractor blade.
The sheath is preferably of rectangular cross-section, at least in the part in which the retractor blade rests against. It is advantageous for the glass fibers to be adhesively bonded to one another and to the sheath at least at both ends of the sheath. This results in a completely sealed sheath construction so that the sheath component can be sterilized as often as required without any fear of damage to the sensitive glass fibers.
In the preferred embodiment, provision is made for the sheath to have a notch or groove extending transversely to its longitudinal direction to accommodate the end of the retractor blade near the handle and for a detent element to be arranged at the front end of the sheath to make a releasable detent connection with a complementary detent element on the retractor blade. This enables attachment of the retractor blade to the sheath and removal from it again in a very simple way, and yet during actuation it is held firmly on the sheath so that, in all, even large forces can be transmitted with the instrument. If necessary, it is thus possible to exchange the retractor blade quickly so the same retractor can be used successively with retractor blades of the desired dimensions.
It is particularly advantageous for the detent element on the sheath to be wedge-shaped projection having at the top a supporting surface extending transversely to the pla
REFERENCES:
patent: 3195536 (1965-07-01), Hovnanian etal.
patent: 3592199 (1971-02-01), Ostensen
patent: 3986854 (1976-10-01), Scrivo et al.
patent: 4562832 (1986-01-01), Wilder et al.
patent: 4570614 (1986-02-01), Bauman
patent: 4597030 (1986-06-01), Brody et al.
"Fiberoptics for Surgery", Applied Fiberoptics, Inc., No. 0219/81.
Lutze Theodor
Weisshaupt Dieter
Aesculap AG
Coven Edward M.
Graham M.
Lipsitz Barry R.
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