Inventors:
John P. Lunsford - San Carlos CA
Edwin J. Hlavka - Palo Alto CA
Edmund J. Roschak - Belmont CA
Daniel T. Wallace - San Francisco CA
Charles Gresl - San Francisco CA
David B. McCallum - San Francisco CA
Dana G. Mead - Palo Alto CA
Assignee:
Origin Medsystems, Inc. - Menlo Park CA
International Classification:
A61M 2900
Abstract:
A lifting apparatus for deployment through a laparoscopic incision in a body wall to apply an external lifting force over a large area of the body wall. The apparatus provides a broad lifting surface that is capable of applying a lifting force of at least 40 pounds (180 Newtons) to an area of a body wall sufficiently extensive to reduce the lifting pressure exerted on the body wall to well below that which could cause pressure trauma to the body wall, yet delivers this broad lifting surface through the body wall via an incision about 14 mm long. The apparatus comprises a body wall engaging element capable of passing in a packaged state through the laparoscopic incision, and being inflatable to an inflated state. In the inflated state, the body wall engaging element is substantially toroidal, provides a broad lifting face, and bounds a central hole. The body wall engaging element includes an equatorial portion facing into the central hole.