Drainage device for relieving lymphedema

Abstract

The utility model discloses a drainage device for relieving lymphedema, which comprises a catheter provided with N connectors, one connector is connected with a vein of a human body and serves as an outlet end, the other N-1 connectors are connected with a lymphatic vessel of the human body and serve as inlet ends, and N is a positive integer greater than 1. The catheter is provided with a one-way drainage structure, the side wall of the catheter is provided with a plurality of protrusions, and the protrusions can deform under the action of external force to massage the vasculature of the human body and maintain the elasticity of the vasculature at the connecting part, so that inflammation caused by long-term fixation is avoided. Meanwhile, a plurality of lymphatic vessels can be connected at the same time by embedding one catheter, so that the surgical suture time can be shortened, and the surgical area of a patient can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of lymphatic fluid drainage devices, and more specifically, to a drainage device for relieving lymphedema. Background Art

[0002] Lymphedema refers to the swelling caused by the accumulation of excessive lymphatic fluid in body tissues. Under normal circumstances, 10% of the arterial blood exuded by the microvessels, which is rich in protein lymphatic fluid, will flow through the lymphatic vessels to the lymph nodes and finally back to the veins. Certain surgeries, such as modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer, can cause the lymphatic fluid to fail to return normally, blocking the "pathway" of lymphatic fluid return and accumulating in the subcutaneous tissue, thus leading to edema.

[0003] The lymphatic vessels are shaped like lotus root joints, and the lymphatic fluid is output section by section through the peristalsis of the lymphatic vessels. In clinical treatment, lymphaticovenular anastomosis surgery is often performed to solve lymphatic circulation problems, that is, the lymphatic vessels are sutured and connected to the veins so that the lymphatic fluid can return. The diameter of the lymphatic vessels is mostly between 0.2 - 0.5 mm, and the diameter of the surrounding veins is between 0.2 - 1 mm. There are the following difficulties in direct suture surgery:

[0004] On the one hand, the lymphatic vessels are thin-walled and small, and ultra-microsurgical techniques are required for suturing. During the operation, a microscope magnifying more than 30 times is needed. The operation learning curve takes a long time, is difficult, and the operation time is long.

[0005] On the other hand, the sutured venous vessels and lymphatic vessels may lose a certain degree of mobility at the sutured site due to the fixation of the suture structure, which may easily lead to the loss of elasticity of the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, local inflammation at the sutured site, and affect human health. Summary of the Utility Model

[0006] The purpose of the utility model is to overcome the defects of long operation time, high difficulty, and poor suture effect and easy inflammation in lymphaticovenular anastomosis surgery, and provide a drainage device for relieving lymphedema. Multiple connectors can simultaneously connect several lymphatic vessels, and by setting a structure that can deform under muscle pressure, massage the blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, and maintain the movement effect of the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels to eliminate the above defects.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present utility model is as follows: A drainage device for alleviating lymphedema, comprising a catheter provided with N connectors, one of the connectors being connected to a human venous blood vessel as the outlet end, and the remaining N - 1 connectors being connected to human lymphatic vessels as the inlet ends, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. The catheter is provided with multiple connectors. When performing lymphaticovenous anastomosis surgery, the catheter is implanted into the superficial tissue of the human body, and the outlet end is connected to the human venous blood vessel, and the inlet ends are connected to the human lymphatic vessels. Specifically, according to the relative diameters of the venous blood vessel and the outlet end, and the relative diameters of the lymphatic vessel and the inlet end, the connection can be made by plugging or sleeving, which can reduce the time of surgical suturing. Since the catheter includes at least one inlet end, lymphatic vessels within a certain range can be respectively connected to the inlet ends through the catheter, thus saving the time for connecting and suturing each lymphatic vessel to the venous blood vessel and reducing the surgical duration. The catheter is provided with a one-way drainage structure, effectively avoiding the backflow of veins and the embolism of lymphatic channels. The side wall of the catheter is provided with several protrusions, which can deform under an external force, and the external force is the pressure exerted on the blood vessel during human muscle movement or the pressure exerted on the tube wall during the flow of body fluid in the blood vessel (lymphatic vessel). Under the external force, the protrusions deform and exert pressure on the venous blood vessel or lymphatic vessel, achieving a massage effect.

[0008] Further, the protrusions are several annular protrusions, and the annular protrusions can massage any position circumferentially of the venous blood vessel or lymphatic vessel. The annular protrusions are spacedly arranged on the side wall of the catheter to ensure that adjacent protrusions do not interfere with each other.

[0009] Further, the protrusions are arranged near the outlet end and the inlet ends. Since the diameter of the human venous blood vessel is larger than that of the lymphatic vessel, the outlet end is plugged into the venous blood vessel, and the protrusions are arranged on the outer side wall of the outlet end; the inlet end is sleeved outside the lymphatic vessel, and the protrusions are arranged on the inner side wall of the inlet end.

[0010] Further, the protrusions are hollow, and a massage material for massaging the blood vessel and / or lymphatic vessel is provided inside, which can improve the massage effect of the protrusions on the venous blood vessel or lymphatic vessel.

[0011] Further, a cavity is provided inside the hollow structure of the protrusion, and the cavity is filled with a gas or liquid as the massage material.

[0012] Further, the 2n-th cavity and the (2n - 1)-th cavity are pairwise interconnected, where n is a positive integer greater than 0. The gas or liquid can flow between the two interconnected cavities under the action of an external force. When the gas or liquid enters the 2n-th cavity, the cavity expands due to the filling of the fluid and exerts pressure on the tube wall. At this time, the (2n - 1)-th cavity is emptied and contracts. When the gas or liquid enters the (2n - 1)-th cavity, the (2n - 1)-th cavity expands, and so on in a cycle to achieve an intermittent massage effect.

[0013] Further, the massage material is a hard ring, which is arranged in the hollow structure of the protrusion. The cross-sectional area of the hard ring is smaller than that of the hollow structure of the protrusion. Therefore, the hard ring can move relatively in the hollow structure of the protrusion. When the hard ring approaches the venous blood vessel or lymphatic vessel, it will exert pressure on the tube wall to achieve a massage effect.

[0014] Further, since the original design intention of the present utility model can be fixed and connected without surgical sutures, in order to ensure the firmness of the connection between the catheter and the venous blood vessel and lymphatic vessel, barbs for preventing the catheter from falling off are provided on the outer side wall of the outlet end and the inner side wall of the inlet end.

[0015] Further, the catheter is made of one of hydrogel, biocompatible material, blood vessel mimicking material, and protein synthesis material.

[0016] Further, the biocompatible material includes one or more of free silicone, silicone rubber, polyethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, polyurethane, polydimethylsiloxane, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present utility model are as follows:

[0018] 1. By assisting the tissue fluid in the lymphedema area to flow towards the venous anastomosis through the catheter and constructing a lymphatic channel, the treatment and improvement of lymphedema can be achieved. At the same time, protrusions that can deform under the action of an external force are provided on the catheter. With muscle movement, the protrusions press and massage the human vascular system such as venous blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, maintaining the elasticity of the vascular system at the connection part and avoiding inflammation caused by long-term fixation.

[0019] 2. Multiple connectors are provided, and the catheter with the corresponding number of connectors can be selected according to the specific conditions of the patient, so that one implanted catheter can be connected to several lymphatic vessels at the same time, reducing the surgical suture time and also reducing the surgical area of the patient. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is the overall structure diagram of the present utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 is the overall structural diagram of another embodiment;

[0022] Figure 3 is the sectional view of Embodiment III;

[0023] Figure 4 is the sectional view of Embodiment IV.

[0024] In the drawings:

[0025] 1 - catheter; 2 - outlet end; 3 - inlet end; 4 - protrusion; 5 - cyst cavity; 6 - hard ring; 7 - barb. Specific embodiments

[0026] The present utility model will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments. Among them, the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and cannot be construed as a limitation on this patent; for better illustration of this embodiment, some components in the drawings will be omitted, enlarged or reduced, and do not represent the dimensions of the actual product; for those skilled in the art, it is understandable that some well-known structures and their descriptions in the drawings may be omitted.

[0027] In the drawings of the embodiments of the present utility model, the same or similar reference numerals correspond to the same or similar components; in the description of the present utility model, it should be understood that if there are terms such as "front", "rear", "left", "right", etc. indicating the orientation or positional relationship, they are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the terms describing the positional relationship in the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and cannot be construed as a limitation on this patent. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, in the present utility model, descriptions such as "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features.

[0028] Embodiment I

[0029] As Figure 1As shown, this embodiment provides a drainage device for alleviating lymphedema, including a catheter 1 provided with N connectors. The catheter 1 is implanted into the superficial tissue of the human body. One of the connectors of the catheter 1 is connected to the venous blood vessel of the human body, serving as the outlet end 2, and the remaining N - 1 connectors are connected to the lymphatic vessels of the human body, serving as the inlet ends 3, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. The catheter 1 is provided with at least two connectors, which can be respectively connected to the venous blood vessel and the lymphatic vessel. The lymph fluid flows from the inlet end 3 to the outlet end 2, enabling the tissue fluid in the lymphedema area of the human body to flow into the venous anastomosis. Thus, by constructing a lymphatic channel through the catheter 1 implanted into the human body, the treatment and improvement of lymphedema can be achieved. Of course, the outlet end 2 and the inlet end 3 in this embodiment can not only be respectively connected to the venous blood vessel and the lymphatic vessel, but also the inlet end 3 can be connected within the lymphedema area, and the outlet end 2 can be arranged within the area of normal lymphatic tissue, so that the tissue fluid in the lymphedema area flows into the area of normal lymphatic tissue, enabling the tissue fluid to be absorbed by the normal lymphatic vessels.

[0030] Of course, the catheter 1 can also be provided with multiple connectors according to the actual situation of the patient, such as Figure 2 shown. When performing lymphaticovenous anastomosis surgery, the catheter 1 is implanted into the superficial tissue of the human body, and the outlet end 2 is connected to the venous blood vessel of the human body, and the inlet end 3 is connected to the lymphatic vessel of the human body. Specifically, according to the relative diameters of the venous blood vessel and the outlet end 2, and the relative diameters of the lymphatic vessel and the inlet end 3, the connection can be made by plugging or sleeving, which can reduce the time of surgical suture. Usually, the venous blood vessel of the human body is relatively thicker than the lymphatic vessel. Therefore, in terms of the connection method, it is preferably to connect the outlet end 2 by plugging into the venous blood vessel and the inlet end 3 by sleeving onto the lymphatic vessel. Since the catheter 1 includes several of the inlet ends 3, a certain range of lymphatic vessels can be respectively connected to the inlet ends 3 through the catheter 1, thus saving the time of connecting and suturing each lymphatic vessel to the venous blood vessel and reducing the surgical duration. The catheter 1 is provided with a one-way drainage structure, which can effectively avoid the reflux of the vein and the embolism of the lymphatic channel, and achieve the long-term curative effect of lymphedema treatment.

[0031] Common lymphaticovenular anastomosis surgeries directly suture and connect venous blood vessels and lymphatic vessels with surgical sutures. To ensure the suture effect, the number of suture positions is usually appropriately increased, which may cause the venous blood vessels and lymphatic vessels after suture connection to lose a certain range of motion due to the fixation of the suture structure, and then easily lead to the loss of elasticity of the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels and local inflammation at the suture site. In this embodiment, a number of protrusions 4 are provided on the side wall of the catheter 1, and the protrusions 4 can be deformed under an external force, and the external force is the pressure exerted on the blood vessels during human muscle movement. Under the action of the external force, the protrusions 4 are deformed to apply pressure to the venous blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, achieving a massage effect. Therefore, it can maintain the motility of the human vascular system, avoid local inflammation, and is beneficial to human health. At the same time, no power source is implanted in the body, avoiding surgical treatment for patients. It is simple and easy in operation and feasibility, greatly reducing the complexity of clinical operations.

[0032] It should be noted that for early-stage lymphedema patients, this device can replace some lymphatic vessels with damaged functions. The inlet end 3 of the catheter 1 can be anastomosed with lymphatic tissues such as lymphatic vessels / surgery and lymph nodes, and the outlet end 2 can be anastomosed with lymphatic tissues or veins to transport lymph fluid to the veins. For late-stage lymphedema patients with tissue fibrosis and severely damaged lymphatic vessels, the inlet end 3 can be placed in the lymphedema area, and the outlet end 2 can be placed near normal-functioning lymphatic vessels or anastomosed with veins. The transported tissue fluid is absorbed by normal-functioning lymph fluid or transferred to the veins, and the lymphedema is relieved. Thus, the clinical application scope of the drainage device in the embodiments of this application is relatively wide, and it is applicable to both early-stage and late-stage lymphedema patients.

[0033] Embodiment Two

[0034] As Figure 1 Or Figure 2 shown, this embodiment is improved on the basis of Embodiment One. The protrusion 4 in this embodiment is an annular protrusion 4, and the annular protrusion 4 can massage any position circumferentially of the venous blood vessels or lymphatic vessels. The annular protrusions 4 are arranged at intervals on the side wall of the catheter 1 to ensure that adjacent two protrusions 4 do not interfere with each other.

[0035] The protrusion 4 is disposed near the outlet end 2 and the inlet end 3 to massage the vascular system. As described in the first embodiment, since the diameter of the human venous blood vessels is larger than that of the lymphatic vessels, the outlet end 2 is inserted into the venous blood vessels and the inlet end 3 is sleeved on the lymphatic vessels for connection. In view of this, the outlet end 2 is inserted into the venous blood vessels, so the protrusion 4 is disposed on the outer side wall of the outlet end 2; the inlet end 3 is sleeved outside the lymphatic vessels, so the protrusion 4 is disposed on the inner side wall of the inlet end 3. Since the original design intention of this device is that it can be fixedly connected without surgical sutures, therefore, to ensure the firmness of the connection between the catheter 1 and the venous blood vessels and the lymphatic vessels, barbs 7 for preventing the catheter 1 from falling off are provided on the outer side wall of the outlet end 2 and the inner side wall of the inlet end 3, refer to Figure 3 or Figure 4 . The barb 7 is made of a silicone material with certain elasticity, or the same material as the catheter 1, and can be integrally formed with the catheter 1. The tip of the barb 7 is preferably provided with a rounded corner to avoid scratching the human vascular system.

[0036] The production material of the catheter 1 is a biocompatible material, which can avoid the human body from generating rejection reactions when the device is implanted in the human body. The biocompatible material can be free silicone, silicone rubber, polyethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, polyurethane, polyurethane, polydimethylsiloxane, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, etc., or a combination of several of these materials.

[0037] Of course, in some other embodiments, the production material of the catheter 1 can also be one of hydrogel, blood vessel mimicking material, and protein synthesis material.

[0038] Of course, in some other embodiments, the catheter 1 body can also be made of other materials, as long as the biocompatible material is covered on the outer surface of the catheter 1.

[0039] Embodiment Three

[0040] Refer to Figure 3 , this embodiment is improved on the basis of the first embodiment or the second embodiment. Specifically, the protrusion 4 is a hollow structure, and a cavity 5 is arranged in the hollow structure. The cavity 5 is filled with a fluid, which can be a gas (such as an inert gas) or a liquid (such as physiological saline). The fluid serves as a massage material for assisting the protrusion 4 to press on the human vascular system.

[0041] To increase the deformation amount of the bladder cavity 5 under the action of external force, the 2n-th bladder cavity 5 and the 2n - 1-th bladder cavity 5 are interconnected in pairs, where n is a positive integer greater than 0, that is, 1, 2, 3, etc. The gas or liquid can flow between the two interconnected bladder cavities 5 under the action of external force. Taking the outlet end 2 as an example, the bladder cavity 5 closest to the outlet end 2 is the first bladder cavity 5. The first bladder cavity 5 is connected to the second bladder cavity 5, and the third bladder cavity 5 is connected to the fourth bladder cavity 5, but the second bladder cavity 5 is not connected to the third bladder cavity 5, and so on. That is to say, the gas or liquid can flow between the first and second bladder cavities 5 and will not flow into other bladder cavities 5. When the first bladder cavity 5 is squeezed by external force, the gas or liquid flows into the second bladder cavity 5 due to the decrease in the volume of the first bladder cavity 5, increasing the volume of the second bladder cavity 5, and then squeezing the human vascular system to achieve a massage effect. Similarly, when the second bladder cavity 5 is squeezed by external force, the volume of the first bladder cavity 5 expands and squeezes the vascular system, and so on to achieve the massage of the vascular system. The third bladder cavity 5, the fourth bladder cavity 5, and other bladder cavities 5 all follow the above principle to achieve intermittent massage of the vascular system.

[0042] Of course, the bladder cavity 5 can be arranged on any circumferential side wall of the catheter 1, or can be arranged on the catheter 1 in a ring shape like the protrusion 4.

[0043] Embodiment 4

[0044] As Figure 4 shown, the difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 3 is that the massage material does not use a fluid but a solid. Specifically, a hard ring 6 is arranged in the hollow structure of the protrusion 4. Since the protrusion 4 is ring-shaped, the hard ring 6 is nested in the hollow structure, and the cross-sectional area of the hard ring 6 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the hollow structure of the protrusion 4. Therefore, the hard ring 6 can move relatively in the hollow structure of the protrusion 4. When the protrusion 4 is squeezed by external force, the protrusion 4 will squeeze the hard ring 6 toward the axis direction of the catheter 1, making the hard ring 6 close to the vein or lymphatic vessel and applying pressure to the tube wall to achieve a massage effect.

[0045] In the specific content of the above specific implementation manner, the technical features can be combined arbitrarily without contradiction. For the sake of concise description, not all possible combinations of the above technical features are described. However, as long as the combinations of these technical features do not conflict, they should all be considered as the scope recorded in this specification.

[0046] Obviously, the above-mentioned embodiments of the present utility model are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present utility model, rather than limitations on the implementation manners of the present utility model. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other different forms of changes or alterations can be made on the basis of the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to enumerate all the implementation manners here. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present utility model shall be included within the protection scope of the claims of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A drainage device for relieving lymphedema, comprising a catheter (1) provided with N connectors, wherein one connector is connected to a human vein and serves as an outlet (2), and the remaining N-1 connectors are connected to a human lymphatic vessel and serve as an inlet (3), wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1, and the catheter (1) is provided with a unidirectional drainage structure, characterized in that: The side wall of the conduit (1) is provided with a plurality of protrusions (4), and the protrusions (4) are capable of deforming under the action of external force.

2. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protrusions (4) are a plurality of annular protrusions and are arranged at intervals on the side wall of the conduit (1).

3. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 2, characterized in that: The protrusion (4) is arranged near the outlet end (2) and the inlet end (3); the outlet end (2) is inserted into the vein, and the protrusion (4) is arranged on the outer wall of the outlet end (2); the inlet end (3) is sleeved outside the lymphatic vessel, and the protrusion (4) is arranged on the inner wall of the inlet end (3).

4. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 3, characterized in that: The protrusion (4) is hollow, and a massage material for massaging blood vessels and / or lymphatic vessels is arranged inside the protrusion (4).

5. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 4, characterized in that: The hollow structure of the protrusion (4) has a built-in capsule cavity (5), and the capsule cavity (5) is filled with gas or liquid serving as the massage material.

6. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 5, characterized in that: The 2nth capsule cavity (5) and the 2n-1th capsule cavity (5) are interconnected in pairs, n is a positive integer greater than 0, and the gas or liquid can flow in the two connected capsule cavities (5) under the action of external force.

7. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 4, characterized in that: The massage material hard ring (6) is arranged in the hollow structure of the protrusion (4), and the cross-sectional area of ​​the hard ring (6) is smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the hollow structure of the protrusion (4).

8. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 3, characterized in that: The outer side wall of the outlet end (2) and the inner side wall of the inlet end (3) are provided with barbs (7) for preventing the catheter (1) from falling off.

9. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The catheter (1) is made of a material selected from the group consisting of hydrogel, biocompatible material, vascular mimicking material, and protein synthetic material.

10. The drainage device for relieving lymphedema according to claim 9, characterized in that: The biocompatible material includes one or more of free silicone, silicone rubber, polyethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, polyurethane, polyurethane, polyurethane, polydimethylsiloxane, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, and polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate.

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