Surgery – Instruments – Electrical application
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-23
2001-02-13
Dvorak, Linda C. M. (Department: 3739)
Surgery
Instruments
Electrical application
C606S048000, C606S050000, C606S052000, C604S164010, C604S165010, C604S272000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06187002
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to an improved electrosurgical trocar and method of use and, more particularly, to an electrosurgical trocar adapted to capacitively couple electrosurgical energy to specially adapted cordless electrosurgical instruments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The surgical trocar has become the mainstay in the development and acceptance of endoscopic surgical procedures. Endoscopic surgery involves the performance of surgery through a number of openings having a relatively small diameter. These openings are made with the trocar, which typically includes a trocar obturator and a trocar cannula. The obturator is the piercing implement which punctures the body wall to make the opening. Once the puncture is made, the obturator is withdrawn from the cannula. The cannula then provides a small diameter passageway into and through the body wall to provide access for additional surgical instrumentation to the surgical site. The function, structure and operation of a typical trocar is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,197, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Such additional surgical instruments may include, for example, bipolar or monopolar electrosurgical instruments which utilize radio frequency electrosurgical energy. Known electrosurgical instruments include, for example, bipolar forceps, bipolar scissors, monopolar-hooks, monopolar-scissors and, bipolar endocutters. Each of those instruments has an electrosurgical end effector which is adapted to treat tissue through the application of electrosurgical (e.g. radio frequency or RF) energy to tissue which is brought in contact with the electrosurgical end effector. Most known electrosurgical instruments are connected by electrical cords to electrosurgical generators. The structure and operation of a typical bipolar cutter/stapler (“bipolar endocutter”) is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,312 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Electrosurgical generators, such as the Force II generator (which is available from Valleylab of Bolder Colo.), supply electrical energy to the electrosurgical instruments through electrical cords. The electrical cords, being attached directly to the electrosurgical instrument, may make the electrosurgical instrument inconvenient to use. Alternatively, electrical cords may cause undesirable delays as one electrosurgical instrument is unplugged from the generator and another is plugged in. Thus, it would be advantageous to design a cordless electrosurgical instrument. However, such a cordless electrosurgical instrument would have to be connected to the electrosurgical generator through some alternate arrangement. Therefore, it would also be advantageous to design a trocar or a trocar adapter which is adapted to capacitively couple electrosurgical energy to specially designed cordless electrosurgical instruments. It would further be advantageous to design an electrosurgical instrument and electrosurgical trocar or trocar adapter wherein the electrosurgical energy is capacitively coupled from the electrosurgical trocar to the electrosurgical instrument when electrosurgical energy is applied to the electrosurgical trocar or trocar adapter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, a surgical trocar is adapted to capacitively couple electrosurgical energy to specially adapted cordless electrosurgical instruments. In one embodiment of the present invention, an electrosurgical trocar includes a cannula, a capacitive electrosurgical adapter and a locking connector adapted to connect the cannula to the capacitive electrosurgical adapter. The cannula is an elongated tube which may be inserted into a body cavity, duct or vessel. The electrosurgical adapter includes a housing with an elongated central aperture, a proximal capacitor plate and a distal capacitor plate positioned in and extending axially along the elongated aperture, first and second electrical conductors, first and second external conductors, a compression mechanism, an outer housing and an electrical cord.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the adapter aperture is formed by an aperture wall positioned in the adapter housing. The adapter proximal and distal capacitor plates are positioned in and extend axially along the aperture, forming at least a portion of the walls of the aperture. The first and second electrical conductors connect the adapter proximal and adapter distal capacitor plates to the first and second external connectors. The compression mechanism biases the adapter proximal and adapter distal capacitor plates toward the center of the adapter aperture. An electrical cord is connected to the first and second external connectors such that the electrical cord may be used to plug the adapter into a suitable electrosurgical generator.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the adapter proximal capacitor plate is positioned in and substantially surrounds a first portion of the adapter aperture. The adapter distal capacitor plate is positioned in and substantially surrounds the a second portion of the adapter aperture distal to the portion of the aperture substantially surrounded by the adapter proximal capacitor plate. The adapter proximal capacitor plate and the adapter distal capacitor plate are electrically isolated and are separated by an insulation region which substantially surrounds the aperture between the adapter proximal capacitor plate and the adapter distal capacitor plate. The proximal capacitor plate and the distal capacitor plate may be separated from the aperture by a region of dielectric material.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the adapter proximal capacitor plate is divided into at least a first proximal stator plate and a second proximal stator plate. The proximal stator plates being electrically connected such that the proximal stator plates are electrically common. The adapter distal capacitor plate is divided into at least a first distal stator plate and a second distal stator plate. The distal stator plates being electrically connected such that the distal stator plates are electrically common. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the compression member includes one or more compression rings positioned around the proximal stator plates and one or more compression rings positioned around the distal stator plates. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the stator plates are separated from the aperture by a dielectric region which is adapted to insulate the stator plates and to enhance capacitive of the stator plates to an electrosurgical instrument inserted into the adapter.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the electrosurgical trocar includes a locking connector which connects the cannula to the capacitive electrosurgical adapter. In this embodiment of the invention, the adapter includes first and second locking cleats extending from the distal end of the connector. The cannula includes receptors such as indentations or ribs which hold the distal ends of the locking cleats in place, thus holding the connector in contact with the cannula. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the capacitive electrosurgical adapter is integrated into and made a part of the trocar cannula.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, each of the capacitor plates comprises an electrically conductive plate covered by a layer of high dielecteric material. The high dielectric material may be composed, at least in part, of a durable high dielectric material such as Barium Titanate (BaTiO
3
) or other suitable material.
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paten
Freeman Lynetta J.
Knodel Bryan D.
Long Gary L.
Dvorak Linda C. M.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc.
Ruddy David M.
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