Patent ID: 8007472

Claim:
A surgical access instrument for permitting access to body tissue, which comprises: a member positionable within body tissue, the member having an opening to access the body tissue and permit passage of an object, and defining a longitudinal axis, the member defining proximal and distal ends; a seal housing mounted to the proximal end of the member, the seal housing including internal opposing surfaces; and a seal mounted at least partially disposed within the seal housing, the seal including an outer portion and an inner seal portion extending radially inwardly from the outer portion for forming a substantial seal about the object, the inner seal portion including a first seal membrane comprising an elastomeric material and a second seal membrane comprising an elastomeric material and being longitudinally spaced from the first seal membrane and in general longitudinal alignment therewith, the inner seal portion having a deformable ring connecting the first seal membrane and the second seal membrane, the first seal membrane and the second seal membrane each having inner surfaces defining passages for reception and passage of the object with the inner surfaces of the first and second seal membranes engaging the object in substantially sealed relation therewith, the inner seal portion of the seal being dimensioned and adapted for radial movement relative to the longitudinal axis and having opposed surfaces in sliding contacting relation with the internal opposing surfaces of the seal housing, the outer portion including an enclosed annular bladder disposed radially outward of the deformable ring and adapted to bias the passages of the inner seal portion to be generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the member while permitting movement of the passages of the inner seal portion in a lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal axis upon offset manipulation of the object.