Patent ID: 7510562

Claim:
An endoscopic apparatus for harvesting a desired blood vessel comprising: an endoscopic barrel including at least two lumens, one of said lumens dimensioned for receiving an endoscope; a handle disposed at a proximal end of the endoscopic barrel; a cone portion fixedly secured to and integral with a distal end of said endoscopic barrel, said cone portion having an interior surface facing the distal end of said endoscopic barrel and a conical exterior surface facing outwardly from the apparatus, said conical exterior surface being defined by a base ring having a circular circumference and a plurality of side portions tapering toward a vertex and forming a pointed distal end of said cone portion; and at least one manipulator fork arm having a manipulator fork disposed on the distal end thereof, said manipulator fork arm being extendable through an opening in said integral cone portion for dissecting the desired blood vessel, wherein said cone portion includes at least one fork recess in the conical exterior surface for receiving and maintaining said at least one manipulator fork against the exterior surface of said cone portion when said at least one manipulator fork is fully retracted so as to preserve a smooth profile of the exterior surface of said cone portion between the circular base and the pointed distal end, said at least one fork recess not allowing said at least one manipulator fork to pass through the opening of said cone portion when in a fully retracted position.