Patent ID: 8382785

Claim:
A cystotomy apparatus for creating a surgical pathway from a bladder through abdominal tissue to an exterior abdomen, comprising: a sound for insertion through a urinary tract into the bladder, the sound defining a passageway which extends from a distal end to a proximal end of the sound; a handle portion connected to the proximal end of the sound at a position on the sound which remains exterior to the urinary tract, the handle portion adapted for manipulating the distal end of the sound adjacent to a position where the surgical pathway is to be created; a cutting tip having a blade for cutting through tissue to create the surgical pathway and including a cutting tip connector; an advancement device longitudinally moveable within the passageway of the sound and including an advancement device connector formed on a distal end of the advancement device for detachable connection to the cutting tip connector to connect the cutting tip to the distal end of the advancement device; the distal end of the sound extending the distal end of the advancement device and the connected cutting tip in a predetermined path from the distal end of the sound; a capture cup having a containment area for receiving and holding the cutting tip; and an alignment structure connected to the handle portion and including a retaining portion for releasably retaining the capture cup at a position exterior to the abdomen in alignment with the predetermined path to locate the containment area to receive the cutting tip after longitudinal movement of the advancement device and the connected cutting tip from the distal end of the sound have created the surgical pathway.