Patent ID: 8066673

Claim:
A stabilization seal for placement on the outer surface of a surgical cannula for preventing the cannula from slipping out of a body cavity during use and to provide a substantially gas-tight seal between the cannula and adjacent tissue in the body wall, the stabilization seal comprising: an inflatable elongate tube having a proximal end, a distal end, a first, inner surface and a second outer surface, the elongate tube having a substantially cylindrical shape such that the inner surface defines a lumen therein adapted to receive the outer surface of the surgical cannula, the lumen having an inner diameter; a sealing cuff at the proximal end of the elongate tube for sealing the proximal end of the tube to the cannula, the sealing cuff having a substantially annular shape and the sealing cuff having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the lumen, the inner diameter of the sealing cuff sized and configured to contact the cannula in sealing engagement; a central region of the elongate tube having a first thickness; and a distal-end region of the elongate tube having a second thickness that is thinner than the first thickness of the central region, the distal-end region of the elongate tube being inflatable to an inflated position defining a retention member, the distal-end region comprising a distal end sealing portion sized and configured to contact the cannula in sealing engagement.