Abstract:
A surgical portal apparatus for receiving medical instrumentation includes a portal member adapted for passage through tissue for providing access to an underlying tissue site, and having a longitudinal opening extending therethrough. The portal member has a magnetic material for creating a magnetic field adapted to urge magnetically responsive instrumentation at least toward the longitudinal opening to permit passage therethrough and use of the instrumentation in performing a medical procedure adjacent the tissue site.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/US2008/000162 filed Jan. 3, 2008 under 35 USC §371(a), which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/878,484 filed Jan. 3, 2007 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     The present disclosure generally relates to surgical instruments for performing laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, and, more particularly, relates to a surgical trocar incorporating a novel magnetically active component for facilitating alignment and insertion of magnetically responsive surgical instruments during use in a surgical environment. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures, a small incision or puncture is made in the patient&#39;s body to provide access for a surgical system which is inserted into the patient&#39;s body to permit viewing of the surgical site or for the insertion of instruments used in performing the surgical procedure. The surgical system may be in the form of a trocar cannula assembly incorporating an outer cannula and an obturator which is positioned in the outer cannula. The obturator includes a sharpened point or tip which is used create a path to the surgical site. The obturator is then removed leaving the cannula in place to maintain access to the surgical site. Once the cannula is in place, various surgical instruments such as graspers, scissors, dissectors, retractors or the like, may be inserted by a surgeon to perform the surgery. Typically, these surgical instruments are constructed from ferrous metals such as stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel or the like, and, thus, are inherently magnetically responsive. 
     SUMMARY 
     A surgical portal apparatus for receiving medical instrumentation includes a portal member adapted for passage through tissue for providing access to an underlying tissue site, and having a longitudinal opening extending therethrough. The portal member has a magnetic material for creating a magnetic field adapted to urge magnetically responsive instrumentation at least toward the longitudinal opening to permit passage therethrough and use of the instrumentation in performing a medical procedure adjacent the tissue site. 
     The portal member may include a housing and a sleeve extending from the housing with the magnetic material being disposed at least within the housing. The magnetic material may be at least partially disposed within an interior surface of the housing. The interior surface containing the magnetic material may at least partially define the longitudinal opening. The magnetic material may be coaxially arranged about the longitudinal axis. Preferably, the interior surface defines a tapered arrangement relative to the longitudinal axis. 
     Alternatively, the magnetic material is disposed within the sleeve. The portal member may include an electromagnet. The electromagnet may define a coiled arrangement. 
     In another embodiment, a surgical portal apparatus for receiving medical instrumentation includes a portal member adapted for passage through tissue for providing access to an underlying tissue site. The portal member includes a portal housing and a portal sleeve extending distally from the portal housing. The portal sleeve defines a longitudinal axis and has a longitudinal opening extending through the proximal and distal ends. The portal housing is adapted to establish a magnetic field to urge magnetically responsive instrumentation at least toward the longitudinal opening to permit passage therethrough and use of the instrumentation in performing a medical procedure adjacent the tissue site. The portal member also may be adapted to establish a second magnetic field distal of the first magnetic field to facilitate advancement of the instrumentation through the portal member. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with a general description of the disclosure given above, and the detailed description of the embodiment(s) given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure, wherein: said 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a surgical trocar assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure including a cannula and an obturator assembled within the cannula; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the surgical trocar assembly of  FIG. 1  illustrating the cannula and the obturator removed from the cannula; and 
         FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view of the cannula of the surgical trocar assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The portal apparatus contemplates the introduction and manipulation of various types of instrumentation. Examples of instrumentation include clip appliers, graspers, dissectors, retractors, staplers, laser probes, photographic devices, endoscopes and laparoscopes, tubes and the like. Such instruments will be collectively referred to herein as “instruments or instrumentation”. In many instances, these instruments incorporate ferromagnetic material such as stainless steel and titanium, particularly, within the end effector area, which would inherently cause at least the end effector area of the respective instrument to be attracted to magnetically charged elements. In this regard, and in accordance with the present disclosure, the portal apparatus incorporates a magnetically charged material or portion which may facilitate introduction and/or advancement of the instrument within and through the portal apparatus. 
     In the following description, as is traditional, the term “proximal” refers to the portion of the instrument closest to the operator while the term “distal” refers to the portion of the instrument remote from the operator. 
     Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals identify identical or substantially similar parts throughout the several views,  FIGS. 1-2  illustrate the portal apparatus  10  of the present disclosure. Portal apparatus  10  may be in the form of a trocar assembly including cannula assembly  100  and obturator assembly  200  which is positionable within the cannula assembly  100 . For example, in one embodiment, portal apparatus  10  is a laparoscopic trocar assembly particularly adapted for use in laparoscopic surgery where the peritoneal cavity is insulated with a suitable gas, e.g., CO 2 , to raise the cavity wall from the internal organs therein. Specifically, cannula assembly  100  with obturator assembly  200  positioned therein is applied against the body cavity or abdominal wall. Once obturator assembly  200  penetrates through the abdominal wall, the obturator assembly  200  is removed from the cannula assembly  100  to permit introduction of surgical instrumentation through the remaining cannula assembly  100  to perform the procedure. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-2 , in conjunction with  FIG. 3 , cannula assembly  100  includes cannula sleeve  102  and cannula housing  104  mounted to an end of the sleeve  102 . Any means for mounting cannula sleeve  102  to cannula housing  104  are envisioned including threaded arrangements, bayonet coupling, snap-fit arrangements, adhesives, etc. Cannula sleeve  102  and cannula housing  104  may be integrally formed. Cannula sleeve  102  defines a longitudinal axis “a” extending along the length of sleeve  102 . Sleeve  102  further defines an internal longitudinal passage  106  dimensioned to permit passage of surgical instrumentation. Sleeve  102  defines collar  108  which is mounted to cannula housing  102  and an inner tapered wall  110  adjacent the collar  108 . The sloped configuration of tapered wall  110  may assist in guiding the inserted instrument into longitudinal passage  106 . Sleeve  102  may be formed of stainless steel or other rigid materials such as a polymeric material or the like. Sleeve  102  may be clear or opaque. The diameter of sleeve  102  may vary, but, typically ranges from about 10 mm to about 15 mm. 
     Cannula housing  104  includes port opening  114  and luer fitting  116  positioned within the port opening  114 . Luer fitting  116  is adapted for connection to a supply of insufflation gaseous is conventional in the art and incorporates valve  118  ( FIGS. 1-2 ) to selectively open and close the passage of the luer fitting  116 . Cannula housing  104  further includes duckbill or zero closure valve  120  which tapers distally and inwardly to a sealed configuration. Closure valve  120  defines slit  122  which opens to permit passage of the surgical instrumentation and closes in the absence of the instrumentation. Closure valve  120  is preferably adapted to close upon exposure to the forces exerted by the insufflation gases in the internal cavity. Other zero closure valves are also contemplated including single or multiple slit valve arrangements, trumpet valves, flapper valves, etc. Closure valve  120  rests upon internal shelf  124  of cannula housing  104  when assembled. 
     Obturator assembly  200  includes obturator housing  202  and elongated obturator  204  extending from the obturator housing  202 . Elongated obturator  204  may include penetrating tip  206  dimensioned to pierce, penetrate or incise tissue. Penetrating tip  206  may be bladed, pyramidal in shape or blunt. 
     Portal apparatus  10  may also incorporate seal assembly  300 . Seal assembly  300  may be a separate component from cannula assembly  100  and, accordingly, adapted for releasable connection to the cannula assembly  100 . Alternatively, seal assembly  300  may be incorporated as part of cannula assembly  100 . Seal assembly  300  includes a seal housing, generally identified as reference numeral  302 , and gimbal mount  304  which is disposed within the seal housing  302 . Seal housing  302  houses the sealing components of the assembly and defines the outer valve or seal body of the seal assembly  300 . Seal housing  302  defines central seal housing axis “b” which is preferably parallel to the axis “a” of cannula sleeve  302  and, more specifically, coincident with the axis “a” of the cannula sleeve  302 . Seal housing  302  may incorporate multiple housing components, or may be a single unit. 
     Seal housing  302  defines inner guide wall  308  and outer wall  310  disposed radially outwardly of the inner guide wall  308 . Inner guide wall  308  defines central passage  312  which is dimensioned to receive a surgical instrument and laterally confine the instrument within seal housing  302 . Inner guide wall  308  defines sloped or tapered portion  314  adjacent its proximal end. Sloped portion  314  is obliquely arranged relative to seal housing axis “b” and extends radially inwardly relative to the seal housing axis “b” in the distal direction. Sloped portion  314  assists in guiding the inserted instrument into central passage  312 , particularly, when the instrument is non-aligned or off-axis relative to the seal housing axis “b”, or introduced at an angle relative to the seal housing axis “b”. Sloped portion  314  provides more flexibility to the surgeon by removing the necessity that the instrument be substantially aligned with the seal housing axis “b” upon insertion. 
     Gimbal mount  304  is mounted in a manner to permit angulation and/or rotational movement of the gimbal mount  104  relative to, or about, seal housing axis “b”. Specifically, gimbal mount  304  is free to angulate relative to seal housing axis “b” through a range of motion within seal housing  302 . Further details of gimbal mount  104  may be ascertained by reference to commonly assigned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0224120 to Smith, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the aspects of the ferromagnetic capabilities of trocar assembly  10  and the features provided thereby in guiding and facilitating introduction and passage of instrumentation will be discussed. In one embodiment, seal housing  302  includes magnetically active member  316  adjacent sloped portion  314  to attract a magnetically responsive object such as, for example, the tip of a medical instrument “i.” In one embodiment, magnetically active member  316  is a coiled or annular arrangement disposed on the surface of sloped portion  314  or embedded therewithin, and extending a predetermined distance along the seal axis “b”. The annular arrangement of magnetically active member  316  provides a magnetic force (indicated by arrows  318 ) which is sufficient to urge a magnetically responsive object, such as, for example, the tip of medical instrument “i”, in general alignment with axes “a” and “b”, into central passage  312  and distally along the longitudinal axis “a”. In this manner, a surgeon need only position medical instrument “i” within the proximity of central passage  312 . Thereafter, surgical instrument “i” is aligned via the magnetic forces  318  and advanced through central passage  312  and cannula sleeve  102 . Moreover, the surgeon may advance surgical instrument “i” through cannula assembly  200  with one hand without having to steady cannula assembly  200  with the other hand as is typically necessary to facilitate alignment of instrumentation with the passageway to the surgical site. 
     As a further alternative, cannula assembly  100  may include a second magnetically active member distal of the first mentioned magnetically active member  316 . In one embodiment, collar  108  of cannula sleeve  102  incorporates magnetically active member  112  disposed on the surface or embedded within the collar  108 . Magnetically active member  112  defines a magnetic field creating a magnetic force (as indicated by directional arrows  115 ) along the longitudinal axis “a” in a general distal direction. This magnetic field assists in attracting and passing the instrument “i” along the longitudinal axis “b” through sleeve  102  and also into central alignment with the longitudinal axis “a”. It is envisioned that magnetically active member  112  may be embedded within cannula housing  104 . 
     Magnetically active members  112 ,  316  may incorporate any magnetic material suitable for the intended purpose of attracting a ferromagnetic material of the instrument “i” as appreciated by one skilled in the art. Magnetically active members  112 ,  316  may be in the form of a permanent magnet or may be an electromagnet. In the embodiment incorporating an electromagnetic, an electromagnetic generator  400  is provided and in electrical communication with the magnetically active members  112 ,  316  to create the respective magnetic field on demand. 
     In use, an instrument is positioned adjacent the portal apparatus  10  and advanced through cannula sleeve  102  as facilitated by either or both magnetically active members  112 ,  316  as discussed hereinabove. The instrument “i” may be used to perform a desired procedure. When the instrument “i” is not in use, the clinician may, in one embodiment, release the instrument “i”. The released instrument “i” may remain unattended within cannula sleeve  102 , i.e., be retained with the cannula sleeve  102 , through the created magnetic fields. 
     It will be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.