Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – With means for cutting – scarifying – or vibrating tissue
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-23
2001-08-07
Kennedy, Sharon (Department: 3763)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
With means for cutting, scarifying, or vibrating tissue
C606S169000, C604S035000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270471
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ultrasonic surgical probes or ultrasonic cutting devices for use in the removal of tissue and/or matter from a living body, and more particularly, to an improved ultrasonic probe which is capable of removing tissue through activation or cavitation of a fluid by ultrasonic vibration, and in which the ultrasonically activated member contains minimal features which may cause weakened portions.
2. Description of Related Art
Probes or scalpels for the fragmentation and removal of materials, tissue and fluids from living beings are known to the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,227,727, issued Jan. 7, 1941 to Vincent Leggiardro, discloses an apparatus for fragmenting naturally formed stones, such as kidney stones, and the like, utilizing a high speed reciprocating rod which may have a blunt end, a sharp or chisel point, a cutting blade, or combination thereof, such as a cutting blade having a blunt end.
While the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,227,727 involved a two part housing, with the sonic transducer in one part and the reciprocating rod in another part, in later apparatus the transducer and probe were connected together to form a unitary instrument. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,811, issued Jul. 29, 1975 to Karl Storz, the transducer and rod-like are coupled and both enveloped by a jacket providing an air gap and preventing the sides of the probe from contacting the body except at its end. An improvement in such instruments is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,452, issued Nov. 9, 1976 to Edward J. Murry and Joseph F. Brumbach, which also reviews a number of articles relating to the development of ultrasonics in medicine and notes the incorporation of irrigation and aspiration with ultrasonics.
A particular arrangement in an ultrasonically vibrated surgical tool using an irrigation fluid and an anti-coagulant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,694, issued Jan. 15, 1985, to David G. Wuchinich, utilizes a hollow tool having a suction passage and at least one pre-aspirating orifice in the wall of the tool, and a plastic sleeve concentrically spaced about the tool for admitting fluid from a supply into the space between the tool and passing substantially all of the fluid through the pre-aspirating orifice.
In the application of ultrasonics to liposuction, instruments of varying configurations recently have been proposed. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,414, issued Aug. 17, 1993 to Katsuya Takasu, a tubular body defining a suction passage has an opening in its front lower end, and an outer tube having a corresponding opening, by means of which fat tissue is crushed and/or emulsified due to the vibration of the front end of the tubular body and is then aspirated. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,086, issued May 7, 1996, to Parisi et al., an ultrasonically vibrated hollow probe has a port in its surface for aspiration and a tip substantially formed of plastic.
In the previously known probes, particularly for the fragmentation or emulsification and aspiration of fat tissue, the ultrasonically activated member or tool had one or more ports or openings, which have been found to be points of stress which limited the amount of ultrasonic power which could be applied thereto, or limited the amount of travel or excursion of the distal end of the probe. If the power limit of the probe were exceeded, the probe was in danger of cracking at the points of stress, particularly at the ports or suction openings. Thus, there is a need for an improved ultrasonic surgical probe configuration which reduces the stress on the probe at higher ultrasonic power levels and at higher excursion of the distal end of the probe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide an improved ultrasonic surgical probe for use in the removal of matter from a living body.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved ultrasonic surgical probe capable of removing tissue and/or matter of hard or soft nature through activation or cavitation of a fluid by ultrasonic vibration and aspiration of fluid and tissue.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved ultrasonic surgical probe capable of emulsifying and removing tissue and other matter through activation or cavitation of a fluid by ultrasonic vibration and aspiration of fluid and tissue.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical probe which can be used to remove soft tissue from a living body by causing a fluid to emulsify the soft tissue through activation or cavitation of the fluid and aspiration of fluids and emulsified tissue.
Another object of this invention is to provide an ultrasonic surgical probe which can control the amount of tissue removed from a living body through emulsification of tissue by activation or cavitation of a fluid by ultrasonic vibration by controlling the size of an aperture in a cannula or sheath of the probe.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In accordance with the present invention an improved ultrasonic surgical probe for removing material from a living body is provided having an axially elongated member having a circular cross-section, a proximal end portion adapted to receive ultrasonic vibrations and a distal end portion; and a coaxially positioned cannula or sheath surrounding the elongated member, isolated from the transmission of ultrasonic vibrations to the member and having an opening adjacent the distal end portion of the member.
The elongated member of the probe is desirably mounted to a handpiece manipulable by a surgeon in which or through which ultrasonic vibrations are imparted or transmitted to the proximal end portion of the member, and causing the distal end portion of the member to have successive axial excursions capable of activating or cavitating a fluid adjacent its distal end portion. The elongated member can be solid or can be hollow, and preferably is of a metal or alloy or other material capable of transmitting ultrasonic vibrations therethrough while maintaining its structural integrity upon receiving and transmitting such vibrations. Preferably the member is formed of titanium or an alloy of titanium.
The cannula or sheath which surrounds the elongated member can also be mounted to the handpiece, but in a manner which isolates the cannula from the transmission of ultrasonic vibrations to the elongated member. The mounting of the cannula to the handpiece in an isolated manner can be the same type of mounting shown for the sleeve in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,609, issued Oct. 8, 1996 to Joseph F. Brumbach. The cannula or sheath in the present invention is termed a cannula as it is that part of the probe which is intended to be inserted into the opening or cavity of the body of a patient from or through which matter such as stones, tumors and tissue is to be removed. More particularly, and as one embodiment, the opening can be an incision made in a selected portion of the skin of a patient through which tissue, such as soft or fatty tissue, underlying the skin is to be removed, as in liposuction.
The cannula is desirably formed of a metal or an alloy of two or more metals, such as stainless steel, or other material, preferably extends beyond the distal end of the elongated member, and has at least one aperture at or adjacent its distal end portion. In the operation of the probe of the present invention, fluid surrounding the distal end portion of the elongated member, which is initially confined by the cannula, is believed to be activated by the ultrasonic vibrations and/or the successive excusions of the distal end portion of the member, and through the opening in the cannula adjacent the distal end of the member, causes the fragmentation and/or emulsification of tissue of the body of the patient in the area of the distal end portion of the cannula. The fragmented or emulsified tissue and fluid can
Brumbach John C.
Brumbach Joseph F.
Edelman William
Hechel Dennis L.
Hayes Michael J.
Kennedy Sharon
Misonix Incorporated
Welsh & Katz Ltd.
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