Patent ID: 7344547

Claim:
A laparoscopic surgical method comprising: forming an opening in an external skin surface of a patient; providing a cannula holder having a perimetric wall and a transverse plate member, said perimetric wall having a longitudinal axis and at least one open end traversed by said axis, said plate member being surrounded by said perimetric wall, said plate member extending generally transversely to said axis, said plate member being spaced from said open end of said perimetric wall, said plate member having a plurality of passageways traversable by respective cannulas, said passageways being spaced from one another; inserting said cannula holder through said opening so that said cannula holder is positioned in and traverses said opening; disposing a plurality of cannulas in said holder so that said cannulas traverse respective ones of said passageways and are spaced from one another in a plane of said opening and so that after inserting of said holder said cannulas traverse said holder and extend from outside the patient to inside the patient; and after inserting of said holder through said opening, inserting a plurality of elongate medical instruments through respective ones of said cannulas.