Provided is a retractor for endoscopic surgery, and more particularly, to a retractor for endoscopic surgery, the retractor being configured to supply and discharge gas to and from a human body, or directly to and from a human body. The retractor includes: a penetrating member penetrating through a human body; an anti-separation member provided at a lower portion of the penetrating member to prevent separation of the retractor from the human body; and a supply and exhaust member for supplying or exhausting gas, wherein the anti-separation member is provided with at least one of a supply hole to supply gas to the human body and an exhaust hole to exhaust gas from the human body by communicating with the supply and exhaust member, whereby gas supply or gas exhaust is preformed through the anti-separation member.

Percutaneous access systems, including trocars, for accessing desired locations within a subject's body through the subject's skin or other tissues that are configured to minimize incision sizes are disclosed. Such a percutaneous access system includes a cannula and an obturator. The cannula includes a passageway with a tapered section and an expandable section at its distal end. The expandable section may include leaves that are configured to extend radially outward as an elongated instrument that has an outer diameter that exceeds a minimum relaxed inner diameter of the tapered section of the passageway is forced through the tapered section. Methods for using such a percutaneous access system, including medical procedures, are also disclosed.

A trocar comprising an alignment channel and an instrument seal comprising a bending portion and a base portion. The bending and base portions of the instrument seal are spaced relative the alignment channel such that when a surgical instrument is retracted the bending portion inverts and the lip does not enter the alignment channel.

Systems and methods for preventing the seeding of cancerous cells during morcellation of a tissue specimen inside a patient's body and removal of the tissue specimen from inside the patient through a minimally-invasive body opening to outside the patient are provided. One system includes a cut-resistant tissue guard removably insertable into a containment bag. The tissue specimen is isolated and contained within the containment bag and the guard is configured to protect the containment bag and surrounding tissue from incidental contact with sharp instrumentation used during morcellation and extraction of the tissue specimen. The guard is adjustable for easy insertion and removal and configured to securely anchor to the body opening. Protection-focused and containment-based systems for tissue removal are provided that enable minimally invasive procedures to be performed safely and efficiently.

A delicate tissue retraction system for use with a navigation probe having a probe shaft and a probe tip at a distal end of the probe shaft. The delicate tissue retraction system includes a retractor and an introducer that is removably installed within the retractor. The introducer has a wall forming a hollow channel extending from a proximal introducer end to a distal introducer end. A mount is integrally formed with the introducer and extends from the distal introducer end into the channel. The mount is positioned to surround the probe tip when the navigation probe is at a fully inserted position within the introducer with the probe tip at the distal introducer end.

In one embodiment, an expander set includes a first and second expander. The first expander includes an outer surface having a first engagement feature and a groove and the second expander includes an inside surface having a second engagement feature adapted to engage with the first engagement feature. The inside surface of the second expander is shaped to correspond to a portion of the outer surface of the first expander. Additionally, the groove on the outer surface of the first expander is sized and shaped to accommodate a rod of a retraction system such that when the first expander is advanced within the retraction system, the rod remains within the groove. When the first and second expanders are engaged with one another, they define an oblong cross-section.

Disclosed herein is an improved tissue retraction and direct visualization tool of a spinal surgical site, such as a site in the cervical spine, including a retractor assembly having a visualization channel, a first retractor member, and a second retractor member, the retractor assembly configured to be coupled to an actuator assembly configured to actuate the retractor assembly. In some aspects, the retractor assembly may transition from an unexpanded state for delivery to an expanded state for visualization. In some aspects, the retractor assembly is expanded with an actuator assembly. A method of using the visualization tool is also disclosed.

The present invention relates generally to medical devices and, in particular, to an introducer sheath that includes a shaft including a tubular portion, an expandable portion coupled to the tubular portion and a longitudinal axis. Additionally, the expandable portion includes a first pair of leaflets and a second pair of leaflets and both the first pair of leaflets and the second pair of leaflets extend along the longitudinal axis. Additionally, the second pair of leaflets are spaced radially inward of an inner surface of the first pair of leaflets and the expandable portion is designed to shift between a first configuration and a second radially expanded configuration.

An access device for accessing an intervertebral disc having an outer shield comprising an access shield with a larger diameter (˜16-30 mm) that reaches from the skin down to the facet line, with an inner shield having a second smaller diameter (˜5-12 mm) extending past the access shield and reaches down to the disc level. This combines the benefits of the direct visual microsurgical/mini open approaches and the percutaneous, “ultra-MIS” techniques.

The present invention relates to surgical access devices (or surgical access ports) and related methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to such devices that are advantageously adapted for use in single-incision laparoscopic surgical (“SILS”) procedures The present invention also relates to kits and methods involving such surgical access devices.