Technical Field

The invention is related to an arrangement structure in which the cables of the laparoscopic instruments are wound to protect the sterilization of the equipment used in laparoscopic surgery by remaining in a closed container during the operation and extending only to the sterile field side, ensuring patient and employee safety, and increasing the working comfort of the surgical team.

The State of the Art

Laparoscopic surgery, also known as closed surgery, is a surgical method that allows the patient to recover faster and feel less pain than open surgery. In the laparoscopic surgery method, the incision size on the skin is extremely small. Laparoscopic surgery takes its name from the laparoscope used during the surgical procedure. A laparoscope can be defined as a fiber optic telescope with a light at the end. Many corded instruments are used during laparoscopic surgery (laparoscopic dissector, laparoscopic cautery cord, laparoscopic scissors, and laparoscopic hemostatic devices). Under present conditions, these devices are fixed in different ways; the surgery is performed by creating a lumen on the surgical covers on the patient on the operating table with a towel clamp or by slipping it to the ears where the towel clamp is held.

Today, many studies have been carried out and new products have been developed so that the cables of the instruments used during laparoscopic surgery can be regularly passed through the lumens and kept in the sterile field. One of these studies is the invention of the patent application numbered US20060634469. The invention is related to a disposable surgical instrument apparatus having a generally rectangular- shaped holder body with one or more elongated cylinders for holding surgical instruments such as a suction device, cautery, and other instruments when not in use during the surgery. One of the cylinders has a sealed chamber with a passage of decreasing diameter to accommodate a cavity of the different-sized suction port of the suction device within the chamber. One or more slotted channels are associated with the cylinders to hold the tubing and electrical cables of the surgical instruments.

Another study is the invention of patent application W02011097072. The invention is related to a tool holder for use alone or combined with a hose/cable organizer. The holder can be made in various ways; the preferred embodiment is an elongated plastic body with folding wing structures that carry opposite tool receiver sets such as snap clamps, rings, handles, and combinations thereof. The holder can be used alone or in combination with a hose/cable organizer.

Another study is the invention of patent application US2020253681. The invention is related to a regulation device for use during medical procedures that allows the surgeon to keep multiple tubes, wires, and cables organized when used during laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery. In the first arrangement, this device has a rectangular body, an upper section with an integral ring in the center, and a lower section with a drop slot optimized for the insertion and retention of cables and tubes. In a second arrangement, the device has an annular body, an integral ring in the center, and a series of slots radially arranged at the periphery and secured by a cylindrical latching mechanism. In a third arrangement, the device is secured using magnets rather than a rotating latch mechanism.

Although the lumen is closed in the products developed and used today, there is no system in which the cables will remain closed. In all these products, the cables are used with the possibility of hanging from the open and sterile field. Therefore, these methods pose a risk in terms of patient safety. The biggest of these risks is the inability to maintain sterilization. That is because the cables moving in the lumen or inside the towel clamp can slip or come out of the lumen, and their sterilization may be impaired. In the event of impairing sterilization, replacing or re- sterilizing the instruments is necessary. This may result in a prolonged operation time and may increase costs. However, when sterilization is impaired, the risk of surgical site infection increases for the patient. In addition, the cable attached to the ears of the towel clamps sometimes cannot be easily moved. During the operation, the surgical team may have difficulties because the cables need to be used as long or short during the use of the instruments in different positions. In addition, this inability to move easily can cause stretching of the cables and therefore the possibility of electrical leakage, causing electrical burns to both the patient and the employees. In this sense, there is a need for new structures that will eliminate the technical problems mentioned in the technical field. As a result, the need for an arrangement in which the cables belonging to the laparoscopic instruments will be wound eliminates the disadvantages of the present art, and the insufficiency of the existing solutions made it necessary to make an improvement in the related technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The invention is related to an arrangement structure that meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all the disadvantages, and brings some additional advantages, in which the cables of the laparoscopic instruments are wound to protect the sterilization of the equipment used in laparoscopic surgery by remaining in a closed container during the operation and extending only to the sterile field side, ensuring patient and employee safety, and increasing the working comfort of the surgical team.

Starting from the state of the art, the purpose of the invention is to protect the sterilization of the equipment used in laparoscopic surgery during the operation, to ensure patient and employee safety, and to increase the working comfort of the surgical team, thanks to the developed arrangement.

The purpose of the invention is to increase the operating comfort of the surgical team in the sterile field by preventing the entanglement of the hemostatic instruments, laparoscopic cautery cable, laparoscopic dissector, and scissors used during the operation, thanks to an arrangement structure in laparoscopic surgeries.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure that the laparoscopic instruments, which are currently tried to be used by creating a lumen with a towel clamp or by being fixed to the side of the towel clamp, remain in a closed container during the operation and are sterilized only by extending to the sterile field side, thus ensuring the protection of patient safety.

Another purpose of the invention is to prevent electrical leakages that may occur during the operation and to prevent possible electrical burns by preventing the cable tension problem that may occur with the fixing methods. Another purpose of the invention is to ensure patient and employee safety, laparoscopic instrument sterilization and safety, to prevent surgical site infections that may occur after surgery due to impairment of sterilization, and to reduce costs that may occur due to the possibility of impairment of the continuous sterilization of instruments.

Another purpose of the invention is to keep the cables in the surgical area by wounding them with a closed pulley system and to ensure the continuity of sterilization, as well as to prevent the cables of many instruments in the surgical field from tangling with each other, thanks to this pulley system allowing unilateral cable elongation.

The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly thanks to the figures given below and the detailed description written concerning these figures, and therefore the evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed explanation into consideration.

Brief Description of the Figures

To understand the embodiment of the invention together with the additional elements in the best possible manner, it should be considered together with the figures whose explanation is given below.

Figure- 1 is the schematic overview of the disassembled version of the arrangement structure Figure-2 is a schematic overview of the arrangement structure assembled,

Figure-3 is the schematic overview of the use of the dual arrangement structure in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Reference Numbers

100. Arrangement structure

110. Lower table

111. Slot

112. Snap recess

113. Snap protrusion

114. Mounting surface 115. Inner roller mounting surface

120. Cover connection element

130. External cover

131. Patient side cable exit lumen

132. Socket side cable exit lumen

133. Indicator

134. Side surface

135. Upper surface

140. Inner roller

141. Cable winding surface

142. Off indicator

143. On indicator

144. Cable winding apparatus

145. Roller inner depth

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed explanation, the arrangement structure (100) in which the cables belonging to the laparoscopic instruments will be wound to protect the sterilization of the equipment used in the laparoscopic surgery of the invention by remaining in a closed container during the operation and extending only to the sterile field side, ensuring patient and employee safety, and increasing the working comfort of the surgical team is explained only as an example for a better understanding of the subject and in a way that does not create any limiting effect.

The arrangement structure (100) shown in Figure- 1 comprises the lower table (110), which is fixed to the surgical drapes on the patient on the operating table and where the inner roller (140) is positioned; the inner roll (140) on which the cables are wound; and an external cover (130), which is connected to the inner roller (140) and covers this inner roller (140). Said lower table (110); preferably rectangular, is made of a rigid sterilizable material. Four corners comprise slots (111) into which the towel clamp is inserted to hold and fix the lower table (110) to the surgical drapes on the operating table. In the middle of the lower table (110), the inner roller mounting surface (115) is positioned for assembly and stable positioning of the inner roller (140). On both sides of the lower table (110), there is a snap recess (112) to which the snap protrusion (113) of the other lower table (110) is connected for interlocking the two lower tables (110) and the snap protrusion (113) connected to the snap recess (112) of the other lower table (110). Each corner and edge of the lower table (110) is rounded to prevent injury to the patient. The mounting surface (114) positioned on both sides of the lower table (110) is made of a sterile hard material or a sterile suitable metal that will not cause an allergic reaction. The thickness of the said mounting surface (114) must be at least 2 cm to carry the arrangement structure (100), to prevent it from breaking, to occupy space in terms of use, and to be ergonomic.

The inner roller (140) and the external cover (130), which are fixed to the lower table (110) shown in Figure-2, are connected using the cover connection element (120). Said external cover (130) forms a whole with the inner roller (140) and has the feature of being able to be opened on one side. There is a manual locking mechanism in the outlet section for fixing the cable in the said external cover (130). When the plug side of the instrument's cable (the part to be plugged into the power supply) which is wound around the said inner roller (140) comes to the underside of the lower table (110), there is a socket side cable exit lumen (132) that provides for the cables wound on the inner roller (140) on the underside of the external cover (130) to be placed in the non-sterile area after the external cover (130), and a patient side cable exit lumen (131) which allows the cables which are wound on the inner roller (140) on the upper side of the external cover (130), to exit into the sterile area after the external cover (130) is closed so that the cable can reach the field and the patient side on the upper side. A transparent indicator (133) is positioned on the external cover (130) to understand whether the system is on or off by showing the off indicator (142) and the on indicator (143) on the inner roller (140). Since the transparent side surface (134) positioned on the external cover (130) to see the cables wound on the said inner roller (140) from the outside, is made of a hard material that does not break, it is possible to see the condition of the cables without the need to open the external cover (130). The part of the external cover (130) other than the side surface (134) consists of the opaque upper surface (135). The lower table (110) comprises the inner roller (140) fixed in the middle so that the cable wound can be extended and shortened, can be opened/extended when it is locked by pulling and releasing movements and pulled again, and the locking system positioned between the inner roller (140) lower floor and the upper floor of the lower table (110). The said inner roller (140) comprises the cable winding surface (141) on which cables of different thicknesses are wound; the off indicator (142) indicates that the arrangement structure (100) is locked; the on indicator (143) indicates that the arrangement structure (100) is on; cable winding apparatus (144) for manually winding the cable after closing the external cover (130) on the inner roller (140); roller inner depth (145) for winding cables of different thicknesses.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3, more than one arrangement structure (100) is connected using the snap recesses (112) and snap protrusions (113) located on the side of the lower table (110).