Patent ID: 6206828
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method of carrying out surgery by spreading the patients tissue or bone structures apart using a rack and pinion retractor that comprises a pair of opposed retractor blades carried by a pair of arms to gain access to the organs inside the chest, the retractor being configured and constructed to permit the respective arms to be moved reciprocally toward and away from each other by the rack and pinion, the improvement comprising positioning in a surgical incision in the patient a rack and pinion retractor wherein at least one of the opposed blades is removably retained on the respective arms by latch means pivotally attached to the respective arms capable of being moved by the surgeon without tools from a closed position retaining the blade on the arm to an open position to permit the blade to be removed by the surgeon without tools from the arm, and replacing during surgery one blade with a different blade.