HANDHELD SURGICAL DEVICE AND SHAFT FOR A HANDHELD SURGICAL DEVICE

Abstract

A shaft and a handheld surgical device have an optimized shape for accommodating an instrument. This is achieved in that a peripheral border of a distal opening of a shaft for a handheld surgical device has a thickening facing outward at least in sections. Cut injuries can be avoided by this thickening due to the rounded borders of the distal opening.

Claims

1. A shaft for a handheld surgical device for accommodating an optical unit and at least one further instrument, wherein a proximal end of the tubular shaft can be coupled to a device body and/or a handle unit and wherein the optical unit and the instrument are positionable with their distal ends inside a distal opening of the shaft, wherein a peripheral border of the distal opening of the shaft has a thickening facing outward at least in sections.

2. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entire peripheral border of the distal opening has the thickening facing outward.

3. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distal opening is formed beveled.

4. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the border of the distal opening has two beveled regions, and a horizontal section, which is aligned at least nearly in parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shaft.

5. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the thickening of the opening changes continuously along the shaft.

6. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an external circumference of the shaft is only enlarged in regions by the thickening of the border.

7. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the external circumference of the shaft is enlarged by the thickening of the border only over a length of the shaft of 0.5 mm to 5 mm.

8. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the external circumference of the shaft is enlarged by the thickening of the border only over a length of the shaft of 0.1% to 1.0%.

9. The shaft for a handheld surgical device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickening has a round cross section.

10. A handheld surgical device having a shaft as claimed in claim 1.

Description

[0012] A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail hereinafter on the basis of the drawings. In the figures:

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a handheld surgical device,

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a distal end of the handheld surgical device,

[0015] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a distal end section of a tubular shaft, and

[0016] FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a region of the distal end section.

[0017] A handheld surgical device 10 is illustrated very schematically and in symbolic form for better clarity in FIG. 1. This handheld surgical device 10 has a device body 11, which can also be formed as a handle unit. Furthermore, an eyepiece 13 for an optical unit 14 is arranged at a proximal end 12 of the device body 11. In addition, the device body 11, which is shown solely schematically here, has two fittings 15, 16. These fittings 15, 16 can be used to supply the handheld surgical device 10 with electrical energy, light, a fluid, or as a port for further instruments.

[0018] A tubular shaft 17 is arranged at an end opposite to the proximal end 12 of the device body 11. This shaft 17 is formed oblong and is used to be inserted with a distal end 18 into the patient. This shaft 17 is also shown very schematically in FIG. 1 and is only used for better comprehension of the invention described here. It is to be expressly noted here that such a shaft 17 can also be coupled to other surgical devices. The beveled formation of the distal end 18 of the shaft 17 is thus also to be considered very schematic. This is because it is certainly provided that the shape of the bevel can deviate strongly from that shown in FIG. 1.

[0019] The invention provides that a peripheral border 19 of a distal opening 20 of the shaft 17 has a thickening 21 at least in sections. This thickening 21 of the peripheral border 19 is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a view of the distal opening 20 of the shaft 17. It can be seen in the exemplary embodiment shown here that the thickening 21 extends over the entire peripheral border 19. The external circumference or the diameter of the shaft 17 is enlarged in regions by this thickening 21. Since this thickening 21 extends outward, the internal circumference remains uninfluenced by this thickening 21, i.e., the full internal volume of the shaft 17 is available to insert or feed through instruments therein.

[0020] It is apparent from FIG. 2 that in the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, a very schematic optical unit 14, which can be formed as an optical fiber or rod lens system, is arranged inside the shaft 17. The space around the optical unit 14 or below the optical unit 14 is referred to as the operating space. Further instruments may be inserted through the shaft 17 into the interior of the patient to be treated through this operating space. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, this operating space is indicated as a circle 22. Due to the extension of the thickening 21 out of the interior of the shaft 17 outward, the greatest possible volume is available to the optical unit 14 and the operating space.

[0021] As already stated above, this thickening 21 of the peripheral border 19 is absolutely necessary so as not to traumatize the patient with the sharp edges of the distal end 18 of the shaft 17. The thickening 21 can have a circular, oval, or similar cross section here having a diameter of a few tenths of millimeters.

[0022] The distal end 18 of the shaft 17 is shown from the side in FIG. 3. It is apparent from the illustration that the distal opening 20 is beveled. The shape of this bevel is made beak-like here. While the opening 20 has two beveled regions 23, 24, a horizontal section extends between these two regions 23, 24. It has been shown that this shape of the distal opening 20 is particularly well suitable to insert the shaft 17 into the patient in a manner gentle to the body. In particular, traumatization or injury can be avoided by the thickening 21 of the peripheral border 19. At the same time, instruments, for example, an optical unit 14, may be guided efficiently through the shaft 17 due to the displacement of the thickening 21 outward.

[0023] The external circumference of the shaft 17 is only increased by the thickening 21 on a very short section by the shape illustrated here of the distal opening 20 of the shaft 17. This is illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows a detail of the distal opening 20 according to FIG. 3. The dotted line 26 represents the unchanged region of the shaft 17, which corresponds to the diameter of the shaft 17. The region of the shaft 17 is identified by the solid stroke 27, the external circumference of which is increased by the thickening 21 in comparison to the remaining shaft 17 (dotted line 26). The dot-dash line 28 identifies the region of the shaft 17 at which the external circumference or the diameter is reduced by the shape of the distal opening 20. Because the thickening 21 follows the beveled distal opening 20, the external circumference of the largest cross section is only slightly increased. Only approximately 1 mm before the beginning of the distal opening 20, the external circumference is slightly increased. With the beveling of the distal opening 20, the external circumference of the shaft 17 decreases in spite of the thickening 21. It has been shown that the shaft 17 may be inserted with a very locally increased external circumference better into the patient than a shaft which has a correspondingly enlarged external circumference over the entire length of the shaft.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0024] 10 handheld surgical device [0025] 11 device body [0026] 12 proximal end [0027] 13 eyepiece [0028] 14 optical unit [0029] 15 fitting [0030] 16 fitting [0031] 17 shaft [0032] 18 distal end [0033] 19 peripheral border [0034] 20 distal opening [0035] 21 thickening [0036] 22 circle [0037] 23 oblique region [0038] 24 oblique region [0039] 25 horizontal section [0040] 26 dotted line [0041] 27 solid stroke [0042] 28 dot-dash line