Patent ID: 8876709

Claim:
An illuminated and modular surgical retractor for illuminating a surgical field, said surgical retractor comprising: a handle ergonomically designed to fit in a surgeon's hand; a section of blade coupled to the handle and having a fitting; a retractor blade extension releasably coupled with the section of blade, the retractor blade adapted to engage tissue and retract the tissue in a retraction direction; a fitting on the retractor blade that is adapted to allow the retractor blade extension to be coupled with the fitting on the section of blade; and an illuminator blade releasably coupled with the handle and disposed adjacent the retractor blade, the illuminator blade having a light input portion, a light conducting portion, and a light output portion, wherein the illuminator blade acts as a waveguide to transmit light from the light input portion through the light conducting portion to the light output portion by total internal reflection, and wherein the light is extracted from the light output portion to illuminate the surgical field, and wherein the retractor blade extension is releasable from the section of blade in a direction transverse to the retraction direction, and wherein the retractor blade extension is releasable from the section of blade without requiring uncoupling of the illuminator blade from the handle, and wherein the retractor blade extension is releasable from the section of blade without requiring optical uncoupling of the illuminator blade from a light source.