WO2000054688A1

WO2000054688A1 - Rod with center joint for holding surgical equipment over patient

Info

Publication number: WO2000054688A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/004696
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Lees
Original assignee: Automated Medical Products Corporation
Priority date: 1999-03-18
Filing date: 2000-02-25
Publication date: 2000-09-21
Also published as: AU3604400A; WO2000054688A9

Abstract

A horizontal bar (103) for holding surgical equipment over a patient during surgery is formed as two sections (203, 205) that are screwed or otherwise attached together. Separately, the two sections are short enough to fit into a conventional sterilizing basket, but the rod as assembled is long enough to be suspended over the patient. One section has a head (207) with a hole (209) for engaging with a supporting bar. Pins (211) and flat portions (217) for positioning can be provided.

Description

WO 00/54688 PCTtUSOO/04696

ROD WITH CENTER JOINT FOR HOLDING SURGICAL EQUIPMENT OVER PATIENT

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/124,928, filed March 18, 1999, whose disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference into this disclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a horizontal rod that is disposed over a patient during surgery for attaching surgical equipment thereto and is more particularly directed to such a rod that is formed from two or more pieces screwed together so that the rod can be easily disassembled for sterilization.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

It is known in the surgical arts to provide access to certain body parts during surgery by providing devices to hold certain other body parts out of the way. For example, during a liver transplant, it is often necessary to hold the rib cage up and the stomach out of the way; retaining devices having retaining blades at their ends can be attached to the above-mentioned horizontal bar to perform those functions. A well known example of that technology is the Stieber Grip sold by the assignee the present application, as shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1 , assembly 101 includes, inter alia, a horizontal bar 103 suspended over the patient P. Various clamping devices 105 are clamped to the horizontal bar 103 for holding retracting blades 107 that hold the patient P's stomach, rib cage, and the like out of the way.

At one end of the horizontal bar 103 is a spherical portion 109 with a hole 111 therethrough. The spherical portion 109 is held by a wing nut 113 onto a supporting bar 115 whose top extends through the hole 111. The supporting bar 115 is held by a swingclamp 117 onto a horizontal rail 119. Swingclamp 117 is more particularly shown in U.S. Patent No. 4,796,846 and in U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/124,927, filed March 18, 1999, entitled "Three-Dimensional Swinger Clamp for Locking Vertical WO 00/54688 PCTtUSOO/04696

Support in Place," the entire subject matter of both being incorporated herein by reference.

To fit over the patient P as shown in Fig. 1 , the horizontal bar 103 must be fairly long, generally at least four feet long. Such a long bar does not fit into conventional sterilizing baskets and thus is difficult to sterilize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that there exists a need in the art for a horizontal bar that can support surgical equipment and that can be readily sterilized. Therefore, it is a primary object of the invention to provide such a bar that can fit into conventional sterilizing baskets.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a bar that can fit into conventional sterilizing baskets, yet can still be suspended over a patient to support surgical equipment.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a bar that is long enough for use with the Iron Intern® and similar systems.

To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention is directed to a bar like that of the prior art, except that the bar is formed as two or more pieces that are screwed or otherwise attached together. Each of the pieces is short enough to fit into conventional sterilizing baskets, while the bar as assembled is long enough for practical use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be set forth in detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a surgical setup of the prior art with a horizontal bar in use; and Fig. 2 shows a horizontal bar according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Fig.2 shows an exploded view of a horizontal bar 201 according to the preferred embodiment. The bar 201 has two sections 203, 205, each made of stainless steel or another suitable material. Alternatively, the bar 201 can be divided into three or more sections.

Each section is short enough to fit into a conventional sterilizing basket. It is contemplated that the sections 203, 205 have lengths in a ratio of roughly 3:2, although other ratios can be used as needed.

The section 203 has a spherical head 207 with a hole 209 therethrough for mounting. A positioning pin 211 is disposed on the underside of the section 203 near the head 207. At the other end of the section 203 is a threaded bore 213 for engagement with a threaded screw projection 215 on the section 205. Near the other end of the section 205 are flattened portions 217 for mounting.

In use, the sections 203 and 205 are simply screwed together. Then the bar 201 can be used like the bar 103 of the prior art.

By extending the length of the bar over that conventionally used, it was found that clamp members 105 could be placed further apart and out of the way of the area of surgery.

While a preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail above, those skilled in the art who have reviewed the present disclosure will readily appreciate that other embodiments can be realized within the scope of the invention. For example, while the sections are disclosed as being screwed together, any other mode of attachment that provides sufficient rigidity can be used. Therefore, the present invention should be construed as limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A bar for supporting devices during surgery, the bar comprising: a first section having a first end and a second end, the first end having a head with a hole through the head, and the second end having an engagement portion; and a second section having a first end and a second end, the first end having an engagement portion for removably and rigidly engaging with the engagement portion of the first section to form the bar.

2. The bar of claim 1 , wherein the first section and the second section have lengths in a ratio of substantially 3:2.

3. The bar of claim 1 , wherein: one of the engagement portions is a threaded bore; and the other of the engagement portions is a threaded screw projection for being screwed into the threaded bore.

4. The bar of claim 1 , wherein one of the first and second sections comprises a positioning pin.

5. The bar of claim 1 , wherein the second section has a flattened portion adjacent the second end of the second section.

6. A bar assembly for supporting devices during surgery, the bar assembly comprising:

(a) a horizontal bar comprising:

(i) a first section having a first end and a second end, the second end having an engagement portion; and

(ii) a second section having a first end and a second end, the first end having an engagement portion for removably and rigidly engaging with the engagement portion of the first section to form the bar; and

(b) supporting means for supporting the horizontal bar over a patient.

7. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein: the first end of the first section of the horizontal bar has a head with a hole through the head; and the supporting means comprises a member for insertion through the hole to support the first end of the first section of the horizontal bar.

8. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein the supporting means comprises: at least one supporting bar for supporting the horizontal bar over the patient; and at least one swingclamp for holding the at least one supporting bar onto at least one horizontal rail.

9. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein the first section and the second section have lengths in a ratio of substantially 3:2.

10. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein: one of the engagement portions is a threaded bore; and the other of the engagement portions is a threaded screw projection for being screwed into the threaded bore.

11. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein one of the first and second sections comprises a positioning pin.

12. The bar assembly of claim 6, wherein the second section has a flattened portion adjacent the second end of the second section.