Surgical holster

A reusable surgical device which is suitable for carrying elongated surgical instruments having a backing plate which supports a plurality of detachable receptacle members contained on the backing plate in fixed engagement. The device is made of a transparent thermoplastic which is electrically insulating, nonflammable, and which can be sterilized at temperatures above 300.degree. F.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention in general relates to a device for holding 
instruments and more specifically for surgical instruments used with a 
laparoscope when carrying out Minimal Invasive Surgery (MIS). 
Currently in Minimal Invasive Surgery the operatory utilizes a surgical 
table on which instruments such as laparoscopic scissors, laparoscopic 
graspers, laparoscopic hemeclip applicators, and the like are generally 
placed and made ready for use at the appropriate time when called upon to 
be used during a laparoscopic procedure. Generally, an attending nurse 
usually hands a particular instrument to the surgeon performing the 
operation at the request of the surgeon. When a new instrument is 
required, the nurse receives the instrument being used from the surgeon, 
and hands him the next requested instrument. Because of the currently 
existing conventional procedures, injuries to patients have occurred due 
to the fact that surgical instruments have been placed on or adjacent the 
patient following use, due to lack of ordered procedures, and/or the 
inconvenience of conventional protocol. For example, current carrying 
instruments such as lasers and cauteries have caused fires in the 
operatory due to the instruments coming in contact with a flammable 
material such as a drape. In addition, the placement of the instrument 
table in the operatory is usually to the back of the surgeon whose 
attention is being directed to a patient, and therefore the surgeon must 
repeatedly turn while conducting a given procedure and is not aware of the 
location of the instruments except upon request to the attending nurse. 
In view of the conventional techniques and protocols currently used in 
operating rooms during laparoscopic procedures, injuries have occurred due 
to the lack of order in accounting for the location of the surgical 
instruments being used in these procedure. In addition, manpower in the 
form of at least one attending nurse is required for the task of handing 
the particular instrument to the surgeon during a given procedure. 
In the area of MIS there has long been a need for a system and/or device 
which accurately and reliably positions the various instruments used for a 
given surgical procedure, and allows the surgeon to accurately account for 
each instrument used during the procedure. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a 
reusable surgical holster which stores and presents instruments used in a 
surgical procedure in a ready position and in an ordered manner to provide 
the surgeon with a convenient portable workstation which securely holds 
and accounts for each tool or instrumentor used in a given surgical 
procedure. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides for an inexpensive, reusable surgical 
holster designed to hold the necessary instruments and tools used with a 
laparoscope when carrying out Minimal Invasive surgery (MIS). 
The device comprises a backing support plate which contains a plurality of 
elongated tubular compartments arranged side by side substantially 
parallel to each other. The compartments are of standard length to 
accommodate instruments used in minimal invasive surgery, and are 
removably attached to the backing plate in fixed engagement when the 
device is in use. 
The holster is preferably made of a durable transparent plastic material 
which is electrically insulating, non-flammable, impervious to lasers, and 
which can be easily cleaned and sterilized at temperatures above 
350.degree. F. for indefinite further reuse. The holster optionally 
contains attachment means such as, for example, straps or clips which 
enable the device to be attached to and/or draped over a stand or table or 
any other convenient support means, allowing it to hang down.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 4 of the drawings, which is a perspective view of the 
device of the present invention, it can be seen that the device comprises 
a backing or support plate which contains a plurality of elongated tubular 
receptacles or compartments which are affixed to the support plate and 
arranged side-by-side substantially parallel with each other. More 
specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the device 10 
comprises a backing plate 12 which contains a plurality of upper paired 
slots 14 suitable for receiving locking means to be described more 
specifically herein. Backing plate 12 further contains a plurality of 
bottom slots 16 which in the embodiment illustrated, constitutes one 
horizontal slot for each corresponding pair of upper slots 14. A plurality 
of detachable receptacle members 18, designed for fixed engagement to 
backing plate 12 utilize a pair of upper locking tabs 24 each of which 
contain a bevelled surface 26 and a vertical locking surface 28. 
Receptacle members 18 contain side walls 20 integrally connected with a 
front wall 22 and an enclosed bottom wall 30 which seals both side walls 
20 and front wall 22. Bottom wall 30 further contains, integral therewith, 
locking tab 32 which extends vertically below bottom wall 30. Lower slot 
16 in backing plate 14 further contains a recessed section 34 below the 
bottom edge of slot 16 which has a depth which approximately equals the 
thickness of the tab 32. As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the receptacle 
member generally has a c-shaped configuration with one open vertical side 
wall. 
In operation, the receptacle member 18 is designated so that the protruding 
top portion defined by tabs 24 is slightly wider than the width defined by 
a given pair of vertical top slots 14, which is more clearly shown in FIG. 
4. In attaching receptacle 18 in fixed engagement to backing plate 12, 
lower locking tab 32 is first inserted down into lower slot 16. The lower 
portion of tab 32 locks in place within recess 34 and the detachable 
receptacle member is then pivoted forward into final locking engagement by 
slightly pressing the two tabs 24 together and snap fitting both tabs 24 
into a pair of upper slots 14. Bevelled surfaces 26 allow the tabs to 
slide freely through the sides of slots 14, and when passing through the 
slot thickness lock the receptacle member in place against the vertical 
locking surfaces 28 of tab 24. Due to the expanded tensional force on side 
walls 20 due to the fact that the resilient plastic material is sized 
slightly wider than the widths between paired slots 14 is of sufficient 
tension to hold receptacle in place in conjunction with lower locking tab 
32. 
When locked in place, (FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6) receptacle member 18, in 
conjunction with the surface of backing plate 12, defines an enclosed 
receptacle having an open top 34 which is suitable for holding and 
presenting surgical instruments 42 and 44 in a secure and convenient 
manner. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show in greater detail the structure and relationship of the 
top and bottom looking tabs with respect to the slots contained in the 
backing plate. 
The backing plate and receptacle member are preferably made of a durable 
plastic material, usually an injection moldable thermoplastic. A 
particularly preferred material comprises a transparent polyetherimide 
available under the trademark Ultem.RTM. from General Electric Company. 
This material exhibits the required properties for the device of the 
present invention which are that the device electrically insulating, laser 
impervious, nonflammable and exhibits high temperature stability (up to 
380.degree. F.) for sterilization. 
Upon completion of a given surgical procedure, the device of the present 
invention may be disassembled by squeezing the two upper tabs together and 
pulling the top of the receptacle away from the backing plate, and then 
up, to release the bottom locking tab 32, resulting in the removal of the 
attachable receptacle member from the backing plate. This structure allows 
the components of the device to be easily cleaned and later sterilized for 
further reuse. If the receptacle members were not detachable and made 
integral with the back wall, the device would be extremely difficult to 
clean and almost impossible to sterilize with any degree of reliability to 
allow the device to be reused an indefinite number of times. In addition, 
should any given receptacle member be damaged or lost, it can simply be 
replaced with a new receptacle without having to replace or scrap the 
entire device. 
The device of the present invention can be attached to any convenient 
location, such as a mayo stand, within a surgeon's immediate reach. In one 
embodiment, straps 38 contained in slots 40 can be used to attach the 
device to any convenient support means. Instead of requiring the need for 
the surgeon to receive instruments from a scrub nurse, the device allows 
the surgeon to quickly pull out and then return instruments almost at a 
glance. The device therefore eliminates the need for the second nurse 
usually required in performing laparoscopic surgery. Furthermore, because 
the instrument reduces the number of people handling instruments, it 
lessens the chance of dropping them or prevents or almost entirely 
eliminates instruments being damaged and therefore having to be replaced. 
Through the use of a suitable thermoplastic material the device of the 
present invention is electrically insulated, flame retardant and 
nonconductive. Because the device of the present invention securely stores 
all of the instruments, it also reduces risk of injury to the patient and 
the operating staff. The instrument is simple to clean due to the 
detachable receptacle sections, and is suitable for sterilization using 
either gas or heat, and can be reused indefinitely providing for great 
economy. 
Further advantages are that the surgeon no longer must repeatably reach or 
twist around to be handed instruments, and the instruments are presented 
and viewed by the surgeon in an order manner in that with the plastic 
being substantially transparent, the instruments are easily seen by the 
surgeon. 
While this invention has been explained with reference to the structure 
disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth and this 
application is intended to cover any modifications and changes as may come 
within the scope of the following claims: