Magnetic surgical/oral retractor

Abstract

A magnetic oral retractor assembly for distending the cheek of a patient undergoing an oral dental / surgical procedure comprises a gripper element mounted to a support structure external of the patient's oral cavity and an intraoral retractor device for contacting the inner surface of the patient's cheek. The gripper element and the retractor device each include a magnetic member, at least one magnetic member being a magnet and the other being either another magnet or a non-magnetized magnetically permeable member. The magnetic members are positioned on the gripper element and the retractor device for magnetically coupling the gripper element to the retractor device through the patient's cheek. The invention has application in surgical procedures to secure patient tissue magnetically in place during surgical procedures or to distend an opening in a patient's body wall during an open surgical procedure.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to devices and apparatus for providing access to areas undergoing a surgical / dental procedure, and more particularly, to tissue retractors incorporating magnets. [0003] 2. Description of Related Art [0004] There are myriad surgical / dental procedures that require access to hard to reach areas of a patient. One part of the body that has proved particularly challenging in terms of access to target areas undergoing such procedures is the buccal surfaces of the gums and / or teeth in a patient's oral cavity. Increases in both the efficiency and efficacy of these procedures are obtained by providing the dentist or surgeon unfettered access to the area being treated. In addition, surgical procedures on other areas of the body frequently require retraction of tissues not involved in the procedure, or securing tissues in place during the procedure, to expose the area. [0005] The most common approa...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

One part of the body that has proved particularly challenging in terms of access to target areas undergoing such procedures is the buccal surfaces of the gums and / or teeth in a patient's oral cavity.

In addition, surgical procedures on other areas of the body frequently require retraction of tissues not involved in the procedure, or securing tissues in place during the procedure, to expose the area.

This is an imperfect approach because it requires either that the dental practitioner hold the retractor with one hand while performing the procedure with the other, or that an assistant be employed to hold the retractor.

The presence of an assistant increases the cost of the procedure to the patient.

And even if an assistant is required for other aspects of the procedure, a manual retractor perforce still occupies one of the assistant's hands, thus limiting his or her ability to perform other tasks during the procedure.

And using a dental mirror can limit the dentist's visual field because the mirror is first placed as a retractor, and only secondarily as a visual tool.

While these retraction techniques may be acceptable in some circumstances, access to the target area is still limited because the patient's lips can only be distended so far.

Moreover, retracting just the lips has a limited effect on moving the buccal surfaces of the cheeks away from the teeth and gums, particularly when the target area is deeper within the patient's oral cavity, such as proximate to the molars.

Yet another drawback to using retractors that pull on the patient's lips is that the retractor itself tends to interfere with the procedure because it occupies part of the opening through which the surgeon / dentist accesses the target area.

However, this can severely limit the amount of working space immediately adjacent the target area.

These devices can decrease the amount of space immediate to the surgical wound, and thus decrease the space for the surgeon to work, but they are necessary to secure the retractor implements and maintain the tissues / organs in a retracted position.

Moreover, the use of multiple laparotomy sponges is inherently dangerous, since it increases the risk that one or more sponges will remain in the patient after the surgery is completed.

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