Patent ID: 9724169
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method for bracing a bundled unit at a surgical site within a patient; the bundled unit sized so as to be insertable through an entry port into the patient, the entry port being one of a minimally invasive incision and a natural body orifice; the bundled unit including an overtube, an articulated surgical tool, and an articulated bracing tool; the overtube having a plurality of lumens extending from a proximal end of the overtube to a distal end of the overtube; the articulated surgical tool having a working end, the working end having been inserted through a first one of the plurality of lumens to the distal end of the overtube; the articulated bracing tool having a single distal link, the single distal link having a single distal tip, the single distal tip having been inserted through a second one of the plurality of lumens to the distal end of the overtube; the method comprising: manipulating the distal link of the articulated bracing tool so that the bundled unit is braced against an anatomic structure proximate to the surgical site solely by the single distal tip of the single distal link applying a force against the anatomic structure so as to constrain at least one degree of freedom of movement of the bundled unit while the working end of the articulated surgical tool is performing a medical procedure at the surgical site.