Patent ID: 7306559

Claim:
An illuminated surgical retractor comprising a thin walled heat conductive metal housing that is directly exposed to the atmosphere during use, an elongated first blade portion having one end connected to one end of said housing and another end remote from said housing, an elongated second blade portion extending along a length of said first blade portion, a light source contained within said housing, said light source being optically coupled to one end of said second blade portion for illuminating at least a portion of at least one of said first blade portion and said second blade portion, and a heat sink to which said light source is thermally coupled within said housing, said light source having an elongated body portion, and said heat sink comprising a relatively thick heat conductive metal end wall portion of said housing adjacent said one end of said housing that is directly contacted by a substantial portion of the length of said body portion for dissipating heat from said light source to said housing, wherein said light source has a pair of leads extending axially inwardly from an inner end of said elongated body portion, and said end wall potion is also directed contacted by a substantial portion of the length of one of said leads for dissipating heat from said light source to said housing.