Patent ID: 8864661

Claim:
A transoral retractor, including: a handle; a retractor blade mount; a telescoping extension adjustment mechanism attaching the retractor blade mount to the handle; a frame having proximal members, a distal transverse member including a central portion and a pair of end portions, and side members extending between the proximal members and the end portions, the frame configured with the end portions extending at an angle in a direction toward a patient from the central portion to locate the side members at transverse locations beyond a side of the patient's head and below a plane of the patient's oral commisaries; and a pivot mechanism for pivotally mounting the proximal members of the frame to the handle; and a spatula blade mounted to the retractor blade mount, wherein the spatula blade has distal and proximal ends, a long axis between the distal and proximal ends, and a major surface, wherein the major surface is curved in a direction perpendicular to the long axis to cause the distal end to be spaced by a distance of 1-4 cm with respect to the proximal end, a width profile of the spatula blade varies, and a midbody width of the blade is wider than a width of the blade at the distal and proximal ends.