Surgery – Instruments – Cutting – puncturing or piercing
Patent
1994-05-06
1996-03-19
Pellegrino, Stephen C.
Surgery
Instruments
Cutting, puncturing or piercing
A61B 1734
Patent
active
054999936
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for piercing ears comprising a pistol and a disposable cassette mounted on said pistol, the pistol having a body portion, a handgrip, a spring biased plunger and means for releasing said plunger from a cocked state, with said disposable cassette comprising a stud housing positioned adjacent said body portion for cooperation with said plunger and a back clasp housing cooperating with the stud housing via a guide member extending from the back clasp housing and passing into the stud housing and cooperating with a positioning means controlled by a positioning lever on said pistol for relative axial displacement of the stud housing and the back clasp housing.
The invention also relates to a disposable cassette assembly for use in the apparatus of the type described above, comprising a cassette having a stud housing and a back clasp housing cooperating with said stud housing via a guide member extending from the back clasp housing and passing into the stud housing.
The invention also relates to a method for piercing an ear lobe with a stud which engages a clasp, in which a disposable cassette comprising a stud housing and a back clasp housing is mounted on a pistol, the pistol then being operated to eject the stud from its housing to penetrate the ear lobe and to engage said clasp, the spent cassette and pistol thereafter being withdrawn from the vicinity of the ear lobe and the cassette being removed from the pistol and discarded.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
Since during the ear-piercing operation the patient's skin is penetrated, hygiene and sterility is of the utmost importance. For this reason, pre-packed cassette systems have become increasingly popular. In such a system, the stud which is to pierce the ear and the clasp which then holds the stud in the ear are mounted in disposable plastic holders so that these holders can be mounted on the applicator, normally a pistol, without the stud and clasp themselves being touched by the operator. After use, the holders are discarded.
During piercing there is very often a secretion of body fluid from the earlobe. Should this fluid contact the applicator, there is a risk of cross-infection for the next patients to be treated. This problem has been addressed in GB-A-2 187 960 which discloses an ear piercing gun in which a disposable cassette or cartridge comprising a cooperating stud holder and clasp holder is mounted on a support formed integrally with the trigger of the gun. Whilst the disposable cassette covers the upper surface of the support, the side surfaces of the support are exposed, as is the gun body itself.
From GB-A-2 142 538 an ear piercing apparatus is known in which the stud is mounted in a cassette having a cover portion which covers the body of the applicator in the region of the stud. However, in this case the support arm for the clasp holder is fully exposed and can easily come into contact with the patient's earlobe.
Danger of infection exists not only for the patient, but also for the operator of the apparatus should the operator come into contact with any secretion on the applicator or the cassette itself.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ear piercing apparatus, a disposable cassette assembly and a method for piercing an ear lobe in which the risk of infection for both the patient and the operator is significantly reduced.
This object is attained according to the present invention by an ear piercing apparatus which is characterized in that said positioning means engages with said guide member at a location within said stud housing so that no part of said positioning means or said pistol extends beyond said stud housing.
Since no part of the positioning means or the pistol extends beyond the stud housing, the patient's earlobe can only come into contact with the disposable, sterile cassette. Similarly, since the positioning means is located within the stud housing, there is no danger of contact with any possib
REFERENCES:
patent: 3943935 (1976-03-01), Cameron
patent: 4030507 (1977-06-01), Mann
patent: 4527563 (1985-07-01), Reil
patent: 4860747 (1989-08-01), Sciara
patent: 4931060 (1990-06-01), Aue
patent: 5211653 (1993-05-01), Nakajima
Andreasson Pontus
Blomdahl Karl
Blomdahl Medical Aktiebolag
Lewis William W.
Pellegrino Stephen C.
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