Patent ID: 7850655

Claim:
A surgical method: comprising the steps of: insufflating a body cavity with fluids to at least partially distend the body cavity; introducing a sleeve member through tissue to access the body cavity, the sleeve member defining a longitudinal axis and having a longitudinal opening; advancing a surgical object through the longitudinal opening of the sleeve member to a position adjacent targeted tissue within the body cavity; establishing a substantial sealed relation about the surgical object with a non-inflatable seal member, the seal member mounted with respect to the sleeve member and having a plurality of bristles, the bristles arranged to define a seal passage to receive the surgical object whereby end portions of the bristles surround the object and form a substantial fluid-tight seal thereabout, the seal member includes a biasing member associated therewith; performing a surgical procedure including manipulating the surgical object in a radial direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve member whereby the seal member correspondingly moves in a radial direction to accommodate the manipulation of the surgical object while maintaining the substantial fluid tight seal about the surgical object, and wherein the seal member is normally biased toward a position where the seal passage is in general longitudinal alignment with the central longitudinal axis of the sleeve.