Importance

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Abstract

A laparoscopic/thorascopic support device is described that engages and supports a body part in a non-traumatic manner while it is being acted upon by a surgical instrument. The support device is capable of lifting or otherwise moving a body part into a desired position to be operated upon or isolated from another body part. The support device includes an insertion device that punctures a covering of a body tissue to provide a passageway for access to the desired body part and a catheter. The catheter extends through the passageway and engages and temporarily supports the desired body part in a non-traumatic manner. The catheter (or manipulating device) includes a shaft made of a material that is sufficiently flexible to bend to a desired straight or curved orientation and is sufficiently rigid to maintain the desired orientation. According to the preferred embodiments of the invention, a distal end of the shaft bends about the desired body part to form a loop and secure the desired part within the loop. Preferably, the catheter also includes an eyelet on the shaft that retains the distal end of the shaft, and a first balloon located at the distal end that is directed through a central passage of the eyelet and is expanded to lock the catheter about the desired body part. A second balloon may be placed at the distal end of the shaft spaced apart from and inside the first balloon and expanded at an opposite side of the eyelet from the first balloon to prevent the catheter from cinching down and traumatizing the desired body part. Alternatively, the shaft may include a distal end having a curved configuration that is made of a material having sufficient elastic memory that can be straightened for insertion into the passageway or placement about the desired body part, and resumes its curved configuration due to its elastic memory to at least partially encircle and support the desired body part.

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First Claim