Patent ID: 8075553

Claim:
A surgical instrument that provides both illumination light and laser light to a surgical site, the surgical instrument comprising: a manually manipulatable handle; a rigid tubular tip on the handle, the tip projecting from the handle to a distal end of the tip; an illumination optic fiber having a length with opposite proximal and distal ends, the illumination optic fiber extending through the handle and the tip to the illumination optic fiber distal end positioned adjacent the tip distal end; a laser optic fiber having a length with opposite proximal and distal ends, the laser optic fiber extending through the handle and the tip to the laser optic fiber distal end positioned adjacent the tip distal end; at least one connection connecting the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber, the at least one connection preventing relative movement between the laser optic fiber and the illumination optic fiber; portions of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber being held in a bent configuration adjacent the distal ends of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber by the at least one connection between the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber being positioned adjacent the distal ends of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber; and, a mechanism on the handle, the mechanism being operable to cause relative movement between the tubular tip distal end and the distal ends of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber, the relative movement being between retracted and extended positions of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber relative to the tubular tip distal end where in the retracted positions the portions of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber held in the bent configuration are contained in the tubular tip and straightened by the tubular tip and in the extended positions, the portions of the illumination optic fiber and the laser optic fiber held in the bent configuration are positioned outside the tubular tip.