Surgery – Truss – Perineal
Patent
1992-09-01
1994-06-07
Crow, Stephen R.
Surgery
Truss
Perineal
128 20, A61B 132
Patent
active
053180100
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a medical instrument, for example an instrument for use in vaginal inspection and/or exploration comprising elements for separating mucous vaginal membranes and for seizing the region to be inspected and/or acted on, which enables the doctor to guide said instrument with either one or two hands.
A vaginal inspection and/or exploration is often both physically and psychologically distressing for the women in question. Furthermore, since no two females are anatomically identical, individual treatment requires the application of a highly adjustable instrument. In addition to all the demands made by doctors and patients on its design and clinical adjustability, the cost of said instrument must be low enough to allow the instrument to be disposable, particularly in view of today's extremely serious sexually transmitted diseases
Instruments for vaginal inspection and/or exploration in present use vary considerably in design and, unfortunately, application is often impractical and complicated for the doctor and painful for the patient.
The most simple conventional type of vaginal instrument (speculum) is a relatively simple bent-up instrument, of which one or sometimes both ends consist of tongued, crescent-section elements for separating mucous vaginal membranes, in order to permit viewing the sexual organ to be examined, e.g. cervix, uteri and portio vaginalis, with the aid of a "spoon-shaped" instrument (depressor). To insert the above-mentioned instruments, and maintain them in the required position, the doctor has to use both hands. If, after successful insertion of the instruments, knives, scissors, etc., are required (cellular tests are almost always carried out at this point), the handling of both speculum and depressor must be transferred to an assistant or nurse. This procedure is generally rather clumsy and awkward, and freedom of movement is hampered by the need for hands and arms to be centred around the area of which a good view is necessary in order to perform the operation in question.
One way of partially solving the problem of space is to use a so-called interlocking speculum which incorporates body-engageable elements resembling an elongated duck's bill. These elements, which comprise two crescent-section tongues, joined together by means of a hinge device, are inserted into the vagina and, provided the correct tongue width is chosen, said instrument can be adjusted to a suitable opening for the woman in question by means of a locking mechanism. All instruments of this type are somewhat clumsy and cause unnecessary discomfort. Furthermore, due to the hinge mechanism itself, said instrument, even when greatly dilated, allows very little room for insertion of any surgical instrument, and obstructs the view necessary to perform an operation. The sole advantage of such a "duckbill" speculum is that its application requires one hand only. However, this instrument is seldom used due to the above-mentioned disadvantages, and also due to high manufacturing costs.
Another type of interlocking speculum which has been proposed, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,815,585 and 3,750,651, and GB-A-1,061,259, incorporates duckbilled elements which are longitudinally slidable relative to each other.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved medical instrument, generally of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,815,585 and 3,750,651.
According to the present invention, there is provided an instrument for enabling the inspection and/or exploration of a body cavity or the like, comprising
a first component, having a first elongate hand-grip member, and a first elongate body-engageable element, the first hand-grip member, in use, being connected to the first body-engageable element, and being adapted to be grasped in one hand for manipulation of the first body-engageable element,
a second component, separable from the first component, having a second elongate hand-grip member, and a second elongate body-engageable element, the second hand-grip member, in use, being connected to the
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Crow Stephen R.
Danvag Ltd.
Maraglio Donna L.
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