Mechanical Abdominal Wall Lifting Device for Laparoscopic Surgery

摘要

Laparoscopic surgery is most commonly used for procedures performed in the peritoneal cavity. These procedures require adequate workspace to be executed. Typically, this workspace is achieved by "insufflation," filling the cavity with a gas, usually carbon dioxide. This method of creating pneumoperitoneum has several problems. First, patients often experience postoperative pain in the abdomen and shoulder region due to carbon dioxide migrating through the body. Insufflation can cause compression of the plural cavity, obstructing respiration, subcutaneous emphysema, gas embolization, and other surgical complications. Along with the possibility of medical complications, conventional insufflation requires that the pressure within the cavity needs to be continuously monitored throughout a surgery to ensure patient safety and proper workspace. This requires special pumps, pressure gauges, and staff attention. Even with observation, gas can leak out of the cavity and the abdominal wall can fall, interrupting surgery. An alternative to gas insufflation is to lift the wall of the abdomen with a mechanical device. Mechanical lifting of the abdominal wall reduces the complications associated with pressurized gas within the peritoneal cavity and the expense of special equipment while creating a reliable workspace for laparoscopic surgery to be performed. Also, such a device may be better suited for new minimally invasive surgical approaches such as natural orifice surgery, with associated device technologies [1]. Other mechanical lifting devices have been designed [2,3]. This paper presents a unique design for mechanically lifting the abdominal wall during surgery.