Patent ID: 7981133

Claim:
A method for endoscopic harvesting a selected segment of a blood vessel using an elongated cannula having a rigid tip on a distal end for bluntly dissecting tissue, the method comprising: forming an incision in skin overlying the vessel to expose the vessel; inserting the rigid tip of the cannula in the incision adjacent the exposed vessel; advancing the rigid tip of the cannula through tissue along the course of the vessel to bluntly dissect tissue in response to contact with the rigid tip and to separate the vessel from surrounding tissue to form a cavity adjacent the vessel along the selected segment thereof, wherein the rigid tip is advanced from a proximal end of the segment being harvested to a distal end of the segment being harvested; sealing the incision and insufflating with fluid under pressure the cavity formed by advancing the rigid tip through tissues; occluding and cutting side branches from the vessel along the selected segment thereof; and sealing and cutting the vessel at the proximal and distal ends of the selected segment within the cavity for removal through the incision.