Patent ID: 7235062

Claim:
A trocar having an axis and being adapted to provide access for a surgical instrument across a body wall and into a body cavity, comprising: a cannula disposed along the axis and having a proximal end and a distal end, the cannula being adapted for disposition across the body wall; a housing disposed along the axis at the proximal end of the cannula, the housing having a housing wall adapted to receive the surgical instrument generally along the axis and to introduce the surgical instrument into the cannula; a valve disposed in the housing and having properties for forming a first seal with the housing wall and a second seal with the surgical instrument when the surgical instrument is present in the trocar and a third seal when the surgical instrument is absent from the trocar; and a gel material inserted in the valve and having floating or off-axis movement properties relative to the axis and to maintain the second seal even when the surgical instrument is inserted or moved laterally from the axis, the first seal being formed by direct contact between the gel material and the housing wall, and the second seal being formed by direct contact between the gel material and the surgical instrument when the surgical instrument is present.