Patent ID: 8298188

Claim:
A method of surgically accessing a body cavity through a body cavity wall, the method comprising the steps of: providing an adjustable surgical portal apparatus including an inner member nested within an outer member, wherein the inner and outer members engage one another by a helical thread defined on at least one of the inner and outer members, and wherein a plurality of incrementally spaced indentations are defined along the helical between a proximal end and a distal end of the helical thread for releasably engaging a locking element defined on the other of the inner and outer members; rotating the inner and outer members with respect to one another to displace the locking element from a first of the plurality of incrementally spaced indentions and subsequently engage the locking element with a second of the indentations to adjust the relative longitudinal positioning of the inner and outer members such that the overall length of the portal apparatus is appropriate to accommodate the thickness of the body cavity wall; and inserting a distal end of the surgical portal apparatus through the body cavity wall into the body cavity.