Method and apparatus for performing a surgical procedure

Abstract

One method for performing procedures, such as vaginal hysterectomies, comprises engaging first and second energy transmitting elements against a lateral side of a uterus. The first and second energy transmitting elements are positioned against opposed surfaces of a tissue mass extending from and including a fallopian tube or round ligament to a tip of a cervix. Third and fourth energy transmitting elements are positioned against another lateral side of the uterus and against opposed surfaces of another tissue mass extending from and including another fallopian tube or round ligament to the tip of the cervix. Radio frequency or other high-energy power is applied through the energy transmitting elements to the tissue masses. The power is applied for a time and in an amount sufficient to coagulate and seal the tissue masses within the energy transmitting elements. The coagulated tissue masses are then resected and the entire uterus removed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to organ removal, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for the surgical removal of, for example, a female uterus or hysterectomy. Background technique [0002] A hysterectomy may include the removal of all or part of the body of the uterus and cervix. Hysterectomy after cesarean section management is the most common surgical management in the United States. Before the age of sixty, nearly one in three American women will undergo a hysterectomy. It is estimated that in the United States alone, more than half a million women undergo hysterectomy each year. Hysterectomies cost the U.S. health care system nearly $1 billion annually. [0003] Most hysterectomies are performed by opening the abdomen because doctors have the most experience with this approach. Surgical procedures that open the abdomen allow the doctor to easily see the organs of the pelvis in a larger working field and allow the removal o...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, less than one-third of hysterectomies are performed vaginally due to lack of physician training, limited access to the uterus and surrounding tissues, and unsuitability of the patient's anatomy, such as large uterine size, limited vaginal type entry, severe endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, etc.

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