Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-24
2003-03-04
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
C604S104000, C604S105000, C604S106000, C604S107000, C604S174000, C604S175000, C604S093010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527737
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an indwelling catheter. More particularly, the present invention relates to an indwelling catheter to be used for inserting through the urethra of an animal or human to the bladder in order to facilitate urination, sampling of the urine from inside of the bladder, or administration of medicines into the bladder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Urination becomes difficult when inflammation is caused in the urethra of animals, such as a dog or cat, or a human body. One method for treating such dysuria is to temporarily insert a catheter through the urethra from the outside to secure passageway for urination. The catheter is also used for treating lesions in the bladder.
FIG. 7
a
shows the use of a catheter for treating lesions in the bladder of a dog, cat, or the like, wherein the catheter
52
is inserted from the tip of the urethra
51
. The reference numerals
53
and
54
denote the bladder and inflammation site caused in the urethra
51
. The catheter
52
may be pulled out after the treatment without allowing the catheter
52
to remain in the urethra
51
. However, inserting the catheter every time for the treatment may impose a great burden on the animal. Otherwise, the catheter
52
cannot be inserted into the urethra
51
when urethritis is worsened, causing lethal complications that require surgical operation of the abdomen. For countermeasures for such diseases, a stitch margin
55
rovided at both sides of the portion protruding out of the catheter
52
is sewed to the skin in order to permit the catheter
52
to permanently stay in the urethra
51
as shown in
FIG. 7
b.
In the case of therapy for a human body, on the other hand, a catheter
62
having a balloon at the tip (balloon catheter) is placed in the urethra
61
as shown in FIG.
8
. The reference numeral
63
in the drawing denotes the bladder
63
. The tip of the catheter
62
has a elastically expandable and contractible balloon
64
, and the catheter
62
also has a branched ventilation hole
65
at the other end. The balloon
64
inserted into the bladder
63
is inflated by sending air from the ventilation hole
65
, and retained there by closing the ventilation hole
65
so that the catheter
62
is not pulled out of the urethra
61
. When the catheter
62
is pulled out of the urethra
61
, air is released by opening the ventilation hole
65
to allow the balloon
64
to contract taking advantage of its elasticity.
A potential catheter for measuring electrocardiograph has been proposed in FIG. 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,679, wherein a basket having vertical slits is provided in the vicinity at the tip of the tube, the tip of the core wire passing through the inside of the tube is bonded to the tip of the tube, and the basket disposing a number of electrodes is expanded by pulling in and out the core wire.
However, it is difficult to retain the catheter
52
for a long period of time when the stitch margin
55
of the catheter
52
is sewed to the skin of the animal for treating the animal, giving great stress to the animal. When the animal is a male, the penis should be exposed from the foreskin to dry the mucous membrane or to induce other inflammations which require incision of the abdomen or lead the animal to death. While the balloon catheter
62
is not required to be sewed to the skin, on the other hand, the balloon
64
may fail to contract by opening the ventilation hole
65
when, for example, urine components are accumulated on the surface of the balloon
64
to compromise elasticity of the balloon. An operation for forcibly breaking the balloon
64
from under the abdominal cavity is required when the balloon does not contract.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention for solving the foregoing problems to provide an indwelling catheter that is not required to be sewed to the skin and is able to retain it in the urethra by a single operation, besides it is easily pulled out of the urethra.
An indwelling catheter according to the present invention comprises a flexible malecot tube having a plurality of slits elongating in the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the tip of the catheter, a flexible core wire disposed to be freely movable in the axial direction along the malecot tube with its tip fixed to the tip of the malecot tube, a cylindrical connector fixed to the root side of the malecot tube into which the root area of the core wire is inserted, and a stopper provided on the connector in order to constrain arbitrary movement of the core wire.
While the indwelling catheter as described above may have an another passageway different from the flow passageway for permitting a liquid in the malecot tube to flow through, and the core wire may be housed in the former passageway, the core wire is preferably housed in the flow passageway within the malecot tube with remaining a marginal space for allowing the liquid to flow through the flow passageway. The stopper is preferably a rubber member having a hole for allowing the core wire to penetrate so that the rubber member is capable of constraining motion of the core wire by frictional force, and exerting a seal function between the core wire and the connector. Alternatively, the stopper may comprise a member provided on the connector and mechanically engaging with the core wire. An opening for communicating between the inside and outside of the connector and a sealing lid for freely opening and shutting the opening are preferably provided on the side wall of the connector.
The tip of the malecot tube preferably has a member for confirming insertion margin such as an imaging member or a scale or a graduation. More preferably, a knob is attached at the root of the core wire protruding out of the end face of the connector, and the core wire has a snap-off portion for snapping the core wire with some remaining sites protruding out of the end face of the connector when the core wire is pulled out of the root side of connector. The indwelling catheter according to the present invention preferably has a cover for covering the end portion of the remaining snapped core wire on the end face of the connector. More preferably, the root area of the core wire is previously separated into the tip side and root side and these end portions of the separated core wire are connected with a snap-off tube into which both end portions are inserted. A snap point that can be readily snapped is formed at a site a distance shifted from the junction of two core wires in the snap-off tube.
In the indwelling catheter according to the present invention, when the root of the core wire protruding out of the end portion of the connector is pulled with one hand while holding the connector with the other hand, a compression force is applied to the malecot tube, because the tip of the core wire is fixed to the malecot tube. Consequently, tape-shaped sites divided by the slit on the malecot tube are buckled and outwardly expanded by being bent at the center of the tape. The bent configuration is maintained by the action of the stopper. When the root of the core wire is pushed in the tip side, a tensile force is applied to the malecot tube to expand the tape-shaped site and the malecot portion is contracted.
Accordingly, a simple operation is sufficient for retaining the catheter in the urethra, wherein the malecot tube is at first inserted into the urethra until the tip of the malecot tube is enveloped in the bladder, then the malecot part is expanded by pulling the core wire followed by allowing the stopper to operate. This procedure permit the expanded malecot part to be maintained, and the inner wall of the bladder catches the expanded malecot part to securely retain the catheter in the urethra. Labor of a treatable operator is reduced and stress on an animal such as a dog or cat may be alleviated by the process as described above. The main body of the catheter can be gently retained in the body, thereby enabling the therapy period to be reduced
Browdy and Neimark , P.L.L.C.
Maust Timothy L.
Ramana Anuradha
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