Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Patent
1994-11-14
1996-11-26
Yasko, John D.
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
604264, 604280, 604902, A61M 1100
Patent
active
055780067
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a suction catheter for sucking mucus and other fluids from the tracheobronchial space of a patient, with a flexible catheter tube having at least one through lumen, said tube having a proximal end and a distal end and being connectable at the proximal end with a connector or the like, with radial vent openings extending into the lumen being formed in the catheter tube in the vicinity of the distal end.
Suction catheters of the type according to the species are known for example from DE-AS 2364119.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,130,406 teaches a suction snorkel for sucking saliva out of the oral cavity for dental purposes, said snorkel being thickened externally at its distal end, with the thickening being interrupted on the exterior by notches running radially.
A similarly designed suction snorkel for dental purposes is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,135. In this case, the end of the snorkel is thickened in the shape of a cylindrical piston and has external notches extending into the distal outlet opening.
When sucking mucus out of the tracheobronchial space by means of suction catheters, a constant vacuum during suction can result in serious injury to the mucous membrane. Firstly, there is the danger of the suction catheter sticking to the mucous membrane and of the latter being pulled away directly by it. Suction catheters are usually provided with at least one side hole in addition to the distal outlet opening at the end. If the suction catheter comes into close contact with the mucous membrane, it lifts the mucous membrane by means of the vacuum and invaginates it into these side holes or even into the outlet opening. The resultant injuries serve as breeding sites for bacteria and lead to edema, etc.
In the catheter known from DE-AS 2364119 a rounded annular bead is formed at the distal end of the suction catheter to avoid injury to the mucous membrane, said bead projecting radially at the end of the catheter over the circumference of the catheter. This annular bead serves to center the catheter within the trachea and is also intended to produce a laminar air cushion so that it does not come in contact with the wall of the trachea, nor can any mucous membrane be sucked into the catheter. It has been found however that drawing mucous membrane into the radial lateral openings of the catheter cannot be avoided in all cases. In addition, there is often the problem of the distal outlet opening becoming clogged with mucus.
The goal of the invention is to improve the design of the known suction catheter in such fashion that clogging of the distal end by mucus during suction is avoided and the adhesion to or drawing of mucous membranes into the distal outlet opening or the lateral openings in the vicinity of the distal end of the catheter is reliably avoided.
To achieve this goal it is proposed to improve the suction catheter according to the species in such fashion that the lumen expands like a funnel at the distal end of the catheter tube of the suction catheter, and a distal outlet opening of the lumen that is enlarged relative to the cross section of the lumen is formed, and, in the distal end area of the catheter tube, in the area between the ventilation openings and the distal end, a thickened area is formed in the shape of a cylindrical piston with transition zones abutting it on both sides and tapering toward the proximal end of the catheter tube or toward the distal end.
In addition to the funnel-shaped expansion of the outlet of the lumen at the distal end of the suction catheter, it is also possible to expand the funnel and/or the lumen walls by means of notches impressed into the walls and running in the axial direction. When the distal outlet opening of the lumen is expanded either by means of a funnel-shaped expansion or by means of notches, the notches can extend for the same distance, for a shorter distance, or for a greater distance than the funnel-shaped expansion in the axial direction into the lumen.
The enlargement of the outlet opening according to the invention in conjunction wi
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patent: 1626839 (1927-05-01), Kallmeyer
patent: 2504557 (1950-04-01), Lumian
patent: 3753292 (1973-08-01), Hutson
patent: 3848604 (1974-11-01), Sackner
patent: 3945385 (1976-03-01), Sackner
patent: 4769016 (1988-09-01), Labianca
Schon Rudolf
Stright Jr. Ronald K.
Yasko John D.
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