Patent ID: 7850600

Claim:
An instrument holder assembly for laparoscopic surgical operations, said instrument holder assembly having an insertion configuration for insertion of said instrument holder assembly through an incision in a patient for at least partial insertion of said instrument holder assembly into a patient cavity, and an in use configuration for use of said instrument holder assembly for access to said patient cavity, said instrument holder assembly comprising: a flexible member having a surrounding edge; an at least partially flexible wall surrounding said flexible member, said at least partially flexible wall being connected to said flexible member all along said edge, said at least partially flexible wall having a longitudinal axis, said flexible member extending substantially transversely to said axis, said at least partially flexible wall extending away from said flexible member at least in a direction away from a patient; and a plurality of cannulas connected to and extending from said flexible member inside said at least partially flexible wall, said cannulas defining a plurality of separate and mutually spaced apertures for receiving respective elongate laparoscopic surgical members, wherein, for the insertion configuration, the flexible member and the at least partially flexible wall are folded into a compact configuration wherein the at least partially flexible wall has a compressible cross-sectional dimension, said compressible cross-sectional dimension along the longitudinal axis of said at least partially flexible wall being less than a dimension of the incision in a patient where said at least partially flexible wall extends at least partially through the incision in a patient.