U.S. patent number 3,662,755 [Application Number 05/003,258] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-16 for cryo-scalpel.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Leybold-Heraeus GmbH & Co. Kommandit-Gesellschaft. Invention is credited to Wolfgang Lutzeyer, Stravros Lymberopoulos, Robert Rautenbach, Udo Werner, Hubert Zimmerman.
United States Patent |
3,662,755 |
Rautenbach , et al. |
May 16, 1972 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
CRYO-SCALPEL
Abstract
A method of cryogenic surgery and a scalpel suitable for the
practice of the method. The scalpel has a hollow chamber within
which a fluid medium may be injected, there being knife blade means
in heat transfer contact therewith. In the practice of the method
the scalpel is cooled by injection of an appropriate fluid.
Thereafter animal tissue is cut with the scalpel thereby freezing
the cut areas. The knife is heated as necessary to permit
detachment of the scalpel from the frozen areas.
Inventors: |
Rautenbach; Robert (Aachen,
DT), Lutzeyer; Wolfgang (Aachen, DT),
Werner; Udo (Karlsruhe, DT), Lymberopoulos;
Stravros (Aachen, DT), Zimmerman; Hubert (Aachen,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Leybold-Heraeus GmbH & Co.
Kommandit-Gesellschaft (Koln-Bayental, DT)
|
Family
ID: |
5699164 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/003,258 |
Filed: |
August 8, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 8, 1968 [DT] |
|
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P 17 66 906.6 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
606/24 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
18/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
18/00 (20060101); A61B 18/02 (20060101); A61b
017/38 (); A61b 017/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/303.1,305
;83/170,171,915.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pace; Channing L.
Claims
We claim:
1. A cryogenic surgical scalpel, comprising a knife blade defining
a hollow chamber, means for passing a fluid through said hollow
chamber for cooling said knife blade, means connected to said knife
blade for selectively heating said knife blade, said means for
passing a fluid having an outer tube communicating with said
chamber for providing an outlet for the fluid and an inner tube
arranged coaxially within said outer tube and extending
substantially across said chamber for providing an inlet for the
fluid, said knife blade having two similar side walls in part
defining a generally triangular cross section for said knife blade,
the means for heating said knife blade having a resistance heater
positioned with said chamber in close adjacency to said side walls,
the region of the wall of said inner tube arranged within said
chamber being spaced from said side walls and defining a plurality
of openings, the scalpel further comprising an insulated handle
formed about the exterior of said outer tube, the handle being
hollow and having end walls which provide the only connections
between said handle and said outer tube, and said resistance heater
having leads passing through said insulated handle and into said
chamber.
2. A scalpel as defined in claim 1, wherein said knife blade has an
exchangeable blade.
3. A scalpel as defined in claim 2, wherein said knife blade
defines a channel between said side walls, and said exchangeable
blade is detachably mounted in said channel so as to be in heat
transfer contact with said chamber.
4. A scalpel as defined in claim 1, wherein said side walls are
slightly curved walls curving toward each other and toward an apex
forming a knife blade edge, said knife blade having a base wall
arranged between and joined to said side walls, and an end wall
joined to said side walls and base wall, and wherein said knife
blade edge curves from a forward point in which said knife blade
edge is in contact with said base wall to a rearward point at which
said knife blade edge meets said end wall.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to cryogenic surgery and more particularly
to a scalpel which permits simultaneous cutting and freezing of
tissue and to a method of using this scalpel.
It is known that for example in brain surgery and in the surgery of
the prostate probes are used which are cooled by evaporating liquid
nitrogen. In this case, the surrounding tissue is frozen after
introducing the probe. After termination of the freezing process,
the frozen tissue is removed in part or entirely by means of known
techniques.
The application of this "bloodless" technique of operation when
extended also to other organs or parts of the body, would allow
intervention of any wanted size with minimum loss of blood and
without interrupting the central blood supply to the field of
operation. However, especially in the surgery of parenchymatous
organs (kidney, liver, spleen etc.) it is not possible to freeze
the whole organ before a surgical intervention or a separation of
parts from the organ is made. In such cases, it is necessary to
proceed to cutting and simultaneously start freezing of the cutting
zones, in order to avoid secondary bleeding from the tissue. In
addition it must be made sure that the instrument after termination
of the freezing process is rapidly detached, without tearing the
adhering tissue.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through one embodiment of a
cryogenic scalpel according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of a modified embodiment of a
scalpel according to the present invention and taken on a line
corresponding to 2--2 of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, the same shows a
cryogenic scalpel according to the present invention which defines
a hollow chamber 10 of generally triangular cross section. It has a
planar base wall 12 and two slightly curved side walls, joined at
one end to the base wall edges and curving toward each other and
toward an apex forming a knife blade edge 18 which curves from a
forward point 20 in which it is in contact with the chamber base
wall 12 to a rearward point at which it meets the chamber end wall
22.
An outer tube 32 is secured to the chamber rear wall 22 at its
forward end and extends in a direction generally parallel to the
chamber base wall 12. An inner gas carrying tube 30 is mounted
co-axially within, and spaced from, tube 32 by spacers 34. Tube 30
has its forward end extending through about two-thirds of the
length of chamber 10, and its rear end terminates in a gas fitting
36. A suitable supply of liquefied gas, for example nitrogen, may
be supplied to the tube and passed through the knife blade. By
liquefied gas is meant a substance which is a gas at atmospheric
pressure but is in the liquid state by virture of being at a higher
than atmospheric pressure. Openings 38 are provided in the region
of the wall of tube 30 which extends into the interior of chamber
10. The rear end of outer tube 32 is opened to the atmosphere. As a
result, the pressure within chamber 10 is close to atmospheric.
When liquefied gas is injected into the chamber, it rapidly
evaporates and flows out to the atmosphere.
An insulated handle 40 is formed about the exterior of tube 32.
This protects the hand of the user from the cold temperatures
prevailing along the cryogenic scalpel. Handle 40 is hollow and,
except for its end wall connections to tube 32 is spaced
therefrom.
An electrical lead 42 passes through handle 40 and into chamber 10.
Electrical lead 42 leads to resistance heater 44 which is
positioned within the chamber in close adjacency to the side walls.
When energized, they heat the chamber interior and with it the
knife blade edge 18.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the side walls of the chamber do not
actually meet each other. Instead, edges which are opposite to the
base wall 12' meet to form a channel whose bottom wall 26 is curved
along a line having approximately the same configuration as the
apex forming the knife blade edge 18 described in connection with
the embodiment of FIG. 1. The embodiment of FIG. 2 differs from
that described in connection with FIG. 1 in that the knife blade
means proper are constituted by an exchangeable blade 28 of
platinum-iridium alloy, which blade is detachably mounted within
the channel.
It will thus be seen that, in accordance with the present
invention, the knife is, in principle, a miniature evaporation
chamber, designed in the form of a knife blade (FIG. 1), which is
cooled by the evaporation of liquefied gases.
The detachment of the blade from the firmly adhering tissue is
obtained, after formation of a frozen zone which is sufficiently
deep and large, either by internal electrical heating of the knife
or by hot fluids admitted to its interior. Materials to be used for
the manufacture of the knife are all metals or plastics suitable to
be applied in the surgery of living tissue. The materials suitable
for the blade are among others high stability metals or alloys,
such as platinum-iridium. In a special construction the blade may
be made exchangeable (FIG. 2).
An additional feature of the invention relates to a supplementary
"freezing barrier," especially suited for operations of long
duration, and which after cutting keeps the field of operation in a
frozen state during any desired time. The freezing barrier consists
essentially of two or more cold chambers which can be adjusted in
such a way that the cold surfaces of these chambers will keep all
cutting areas in a frozen state which have been previously produced
by means of a cryo-scalpel. The freezing barrier is also provided
with a heating device for detachment from the tissue.
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