Patent ID: 8517931

Claim:
A surgical retractor device, comprising: a surgical port having an elongate shaft configured to be inserted through a body wall and extend into a body cavity; a flexible fabric configured to support tissue; and at least one grasping element coupled to a perimeter of the flexible fabric and configured to be manipulated to couple the flexible fabric to the elongate shaft of the surgical port, and configured to move the flexible fabric and thereby move the tissue, wherein the at least one grasping element has a shape such that when a longitudinal axis of the at least one grasping element is oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft of the surgical port, the at least one grasping element and the surgical port can become uncoupled, the at least one grasping element has a shape such that when a longitudinal axis of the at least one grasping element is oriented at a non-parallel and non-perpendicular angle to the longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft of the surgical port, the at least one grasping element anchors to the surgical port, thereby securing the flexible fabric to the surgical port in a fixed position, and when the longitudinal axis of the at least one grasping element is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft of the surgical port, the at least one grasping element can slide along the elongate shaft and can slide off a distal end of the elongate shaft to become uncoupled from the surgical port, and when the longitudinal axis of the at least one grasping element is oriented at the non-parallel and non-perpendicular angle to the longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft of the surgical port, the at least one grasping element cannot slide along the elongate shaft.