Veress needle with illuminated guidance and suturing capability

Abstract

A laparoscopic instrument for forming an incision in a body cavity, insufflating the body cavity with gas, and suturing the incision at the completion of the surgery includes a set of jaws at the distal end of the Veress needle or cannula. The jaws are pivoted to one another for motion between an open position or a closed position in which they may be used to grasp a suture in the body cavity for removal from the cavity for knotting. A push mechanism at the proximal end of the instrument moves the jaws between their open and closed position on successive actuations of a pushbutton and retains them in that state until the next push. An illumination source is provided for the distal end of the instrument to provide illumination through the walls of the body cavity so that the surgeon can determine the degree of penetration of the instrument into the body cavity and can identify any major arteries which should be avoided in the formation of other laparoscopic openings.

Having thus disclosed my invention I claim: 
     
         1 . A device for use in laparoscopic surgery adapted to form an incision in a body cavity, insufflate the cavity with gas through the incision, and draw sutures through the incision to close off the incision, comprising:
 an elongated cannula having a handle at a proximal end and a sharpened trocar at a distal end;   a tubular Veress needle having a proximal end and a distal end supported within the cannula;   a pair of suture-engaging jaws disposed at the distal end of the Veress needle;   a gas valve for introduction of gas at the proximal end of the Veress needle for passage through an incision formed by the trocar into a body cavity;   a control wire connecting the suture-engaging jaws to the proximal end of the cannula; and   a pushbutton actuated extension-retraction mechanism connected to the control wire at the proximal end of the cannula and adapted to move the control wire between extended and retracted positions.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising an illumination source operative to provide illumination to the distal end of the device through a clear polymer Veress needle. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2  in which the illumination source is an LED. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising an illumination source disposed at the proximal end of the device and wherein said cannula is formed of light-conducting plastic which carries the illumination to the distal end of the device. 
     
     
         5 . In an elongated device for laparoscopic surgery comprising a handle member at the proximal end and a distal end, the improvement comprising an illumination source operative to provide light at the distal end which is visible to a surgeon using the device to determine the position of the distal end within an operating site in a body cavity. 
     
     
         6 . The device for laparoscopic surgery of  claim 5  wherein the illumination source is disposed at the proximal end and transmitted to the distal end through a light transmissive plastic member extending from the illumination source to the distal end. 
     
     
         7 . The device for laparoscopic surgery of  claim 5  in which the illumination source comprises an LED disposed at the distal end powered by a battery supported at the proximal end and connected to the LED through conductors extending between the ends of the device. 
     
     
         8 . In a device for use in laparoscopic surgery adapted to form an incision in a body cavity and inflate the cavity with gas passed through the incision, the improvement comprising an elongated member extending through the device from the proximal to the distal end and having a rounded distal end and a slot formed in the member adjacent to the end, the slot having tapered sides with a maximum width at the outer surface of the member and a minimum width at the interior end, with the slot oriented in the general direction of the proximal end, the slot being adapted to capture a length of suture thread for withdrawal through the incision. 
     
     
         9 . In a device for use in laparoscopic surgery adapted to form an incision in a body cavity and inflate the cavity with gas passed through the incision, the improvement comprising an elongated member extending through the device from the proximal to the distal end and having a rounded distal end and a slot formed in the member adjacent to the end the slot having a triangular shape with two acute interior angels and a passage from the third angle to the side of the elongated member adjacent to its distal end.