Retractor and method for direct access endoscopic surgery

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for less invasive, direct access endoscopic surgery through an operating window, comprising:

a rigid frame capable of supporting applied loads required to perform retraction of an incision site, said rigid frame including a handle at one end, said handle having a handle slot therein,

a lower blade mount rotatably connected to said rigid frame opposite said handle;

rigid frame slots on either side of said rigid frame, and

a translation frame slidably connected to said rigid frame through said handle slot and said rigid frame slots and including an upper blade mount rotatably connected thereto,

said slidable connection constructed and arranged to allow said handle to translate said translation frame with respect to said rigid frame to adjust the distance between said lower blade mount and said upper blade mount,

said handle constructed and arranged to prevent sliding of said translation frame along said slidable connection in at least one direction,

said apparatus further including lower and upper blades each with free ends and supported ends mounted to said lower and upper blade mounts respectively,

at least one of said lower and upper blades including a pivot mount for high intensity fiberoptics,

a first adjusting screw and bar assembly functionally connected between said lower blade mount and said rigid frame for independently adjusting the angle of said lower blade along said lower blade mount rotatable connection and a second adjusting screw and bar assembly functionally connected between said upper blade mount and said rigid frame for independently adjusting the angle of said upper blade along said upper blade mount rotatable connection,

said first and second adjusting screw and bar assemblies constructed and arranged to prevent rotation along said rotatable connections in at least one direction,

wherein the size of said operating window between said lower and upper blades is determined by the distance between said lower blade mount and said upper blade mount set by said handle and the angles of said lower and upper blades set by said first and second adjusting screw and bar assemblies respectively.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lower and upper blades are removably mounted to said lower and upper blade mounts respectively.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a scale fixedly attached to said rigid frame for measuring the distance between said lower blade mount and said upper blade mount.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said scale is laser etched to said rigid frame.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lower blade and said upper blade differ in shape.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a rack and pinion mechanism for translating said handle.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising an adjustable microcamera mount,

said mount being slidably and rotatably connected to said rigid frame in one of said rigid frame slots and including a cam lock for locking said mount in said rigid frame slot,

said microcamera mount further comprising a microcamera holder, the magnification of the microcamera being adjustable by sliding the microcamera within said microcamera holder when seated in said microcamera holder.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a retention device which maintains an operating window and allows access to the surgical field.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said retention device comprises a sleeve.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said retention device comprises a side blade.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 formed from nonmagnetic material.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said nonmagnetic material is titanium.

13. A method of less invasive, direct access endoscopic surgery through an operating window performed with an apparatus having a rigid frame capable of supporting applied loads required to perform retraction of an incision site, said rigid frame including a handle at one end, said handle having a handle slot therein, said apparatus including a lower blade mount rotatably connected to the opposite end of said rigid frame, rigid frame slots on either side of said rigid frame, and a translation frame slidably connected to said rigid frame through said handle slot and said rigid frame slots and including an upper blade mount rotatably connected thereto, said slidable connection constructed and arranged to allow said handle to translate said translation frame with respect to said rigid frame to adjust the distance between said lower blade mount and said upper blade mount, said handle constructed and arranged to prevent sliding of said translation frame along said slidable connection in at least one direction, said apparatus further including lower and upper blades each with free ends and supported ends, said supported ends being mounted to said lower and upper blade mounts respectively, at least one of said lower and upper blades including at least one pivot mount for high intensity fiberoptics, and a first adjusting screw and bar assembly functionally connected between said lower blade mount and said rigid frame for independently adjusting the angle of said lower blade along said lower blade mount rotatable connection and a second adjusting screw and bar assembly functionally connected between said upper blade mount and said rigid frame for independently adjusting the angle of said upper blade along said upper blade mount rotatable connection, said first and second adjusting screw and bar assemblies constructed and arranged to prevent rotation along said rotatable connections in at least one direction, wherein the size of said operating window between said lower and upper blades is determined by the distance between said lower blade mount and said upper blade mount set by said handle and the angles of said lower and upper blades set by said first and second adjusting screw and bar assemblies respectfully, said method comprising:

creating a small incision in the skin corresponding to a surgical site,

retracting the incision by placing said apparatus with said lower and upper blades angled such that the free ends of said lower and upper blades are close together into the incision and adjusting said handle and said first and second adjusting screw and bar assemblies to create the desired sized operating window,

illuminating said operating window with high intensity fiberoptic lighting, and

performing surgery.

14. The method of claim 13 and further including tilting said apparatus to adjust the operating window.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a lead screw mechanism for translating said handle.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 and further comprising a torque wrench removably connected to said lead screw mechanism for increasing the torque applied to said lead screw mechanism.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a ratchet mechanism for translating said handle.