Method for lifting abdominal wall during laparoscopic surgery

Claim 1

A method for use in laparoscopic surgery to expand an abdominal cavity without positively pressurizing that cavity, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of openings in an abdominal wall of a patient; inserting tubular members through respective ones of said openings so that said tubular members are disposed in said abdominal wall and traverse said openings, said tubular members being provided with respective components attached to said tubular members about outer surface surfaces thereof; upon inserting of said tubular members through said openings, expanding said components from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration; engaging said abdominal wall with the expanded components so that said expanded components engage an inner surface of said abdominal wall; intentionally applying a lifting force to said tubular members to lift said abdominal wall by virtue of contact between said expanded components and said abdominal wall; during said step of applying a lifting force, letting air flow into the patient's abdomen; inserting laparoscopic instruments through respective ones of said tubular members so that distal ends of said instruments project into the patient's abdomen; maintaining said expanded components in contact with said abdominal wall and maintaining said lifting force on said tubular members during the insertion of said instruments through said tubular members and during a subsequent surgical operation by said laparoscopic instruments; maintaining the patient's abdomen at essentially atmospheric pressure during said surgical operation.

Claim 2

A method for use in laparoscopic surgery to expand an abdominal cavity without positively pressurizing that cavity, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of openings in an abdominal wall of a patient; inserting tubular members through respective ones of said openings so that said tubular members are disposed in said abdominal wall and traverse said openings, said tubular members being provided with respective components attached to said tubular members about outer surface surfaces thereof; upon inserting of said tubular members through said openings, expanding said components from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration; engaging said abdominal wall with the expanded components so that said expanded components engage an inner surface of said abdominal wall; intentionally applying a lifting force to said tubular members to lift said abdominal wall by virtue of contact between said expanded components and said abdominal wall; during said step of applying a lifting force, letting air flow into the patient's abdomen; inserting laparoscopic instruments through respective ones of said tubular members so that distal ends of said instruments project into the patient's abdomen; maintaining said expanded components in contact with said abdominal wall and maintaining said lifting force on said tubular members during the insertion of said instruments through said tubular members and during a subsequent surgical operation by said laparoscopic instruments; maintaining the patient's abdomen at essentially atmospheric pressure during said surgical operation.

Claim 5

A method for use in laparoscopic surgery to expand an abdominal cavity without positively pressurizing that cavity, comprising the steps of: forming an opening in an abdominal wall of a patient; inserting a tubular member through said opening so that said tubular member is disposed in said abdominal wall and traverses said opening, said tubular member being provided with a component attached to said tubular member about an outer surface thereof; upon inserting of said tubular member through said opening, expanding said component from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration; engaging said abdominal wall with the expanded component so that said expanded component engages an inner surface of said abdominal wall; intentionally applying a lifting force to said tubular member to lift said abdominal wall by virtue of contact between said expanded component and said abdominal wall, said lifting force being applied for a sufficiently prolonged period to enable performance of a laparoscopic surgical operation during said period; during said step of applying a lifting force, letting air flow into the patient's abdomen; upon the lifting of the patient's abdominal wall via said tubular member, inserting a laparoscopic instrument through said tubular member so that a distal end of said instrument projects into the patient's abdomen; upon the insertion of said instrument through said tubular member, manipulating said instrument from outside the patient to perform said surgical operation in the patient's abdomen; maintaining said expanded component in contact with said abdominal wall and maintaining said lifting force on said tubular member during the insertion of said instrument through said tubular member and during said surgical operation; and maintaining the patient's abdomen at essentially atmospheric pressure during said surgical operation.

Claim 6

A method for use in laparoscopic surgery to expand an abdominal cavity without positively pressurizing that cavity, comprising the steps of: forming an opening in an abdominal wall of a patient; inserting a tubular member through said opening so that said tubular member is disposed in said abdominal wall and traverses said opening, said tubular member being provided with a component attached to said tubular member about an outer surface thereof; upon inserting of said tubular member through said opening, expanding said component from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration; engaging said abdominal wall with the expanded component so that said expanded component engages an inner surface of said abdominal wall; intentionally applying a lifting force to said tubular member to lift said abdominal wall by virtue of contact between said expanded component and said abdominal wall, said lifting force being applied for a sufficiently prolonged period to enable performance of a laparoscopic surgical operation during said period; during said step of applying a lifting force, letting air flow into the patient's abdomen; upon the lifting of the patient's abdominal wall via said tubular member, inserting a laparoscopic instrument through said tubular member so that a distal end of said instrument projects into the patient's abdomen; upon the insertion of said instrument through said tubular member, manipulating said instrument from outside the patient to perform said surgical operation in the patient's abdomen; maintaining said expanded component in contact with said abdominal wall and maintaining said lifting force on said tubular member during the insertion of said instrument through said tubular member and during said surgical operation; and maintaining the patient's abdomen at essentially atmospheric pressure during said surgical operation.