JP2000201948A - Bipolar electric tweezers - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To coagulate and incise without making the high frequency current value high by preventing a perfusate from staying between both electrode parts of a tweezer body. SOLUTION: Electrode parts 12, 13 to which high frequency current is applied are provided on the front end inside of a closable tweezer body 11. The tweezer body 11 is provided with a perfusion tube 21 for supplying physiological saline to a lesion part, and a discharge port 21a of the perfusion tube 21 is disposed near one electrode part 12. The discharge port 21a serving as a blowoff port of a gas force-feed tube is arranged toward the electrode part 12. The physiological saline is therefore blown off in a mist state from the discharge port 21a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to bipolar electric tweezers used for hemostasis and incision in surgery, mainly in neurosurgery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A bipolar electric tweezer of this type has a pair of electrode portions inside a front end of a tweezer body which can be opened and closed. A high-frequency generator is electrically connected to the rear end of the tweezers main body, and a high-frequency current is supplied from the high-frequency generator to each electrode unit. The tweezers main body is formed with an insulating film except for the electrode portion. Then, a high-frequency current is applied to the electrode section in a state where an affected part such as a living tissue or a blood vessel is held between the front ends of the tweezers main body. Then, the affected area is coagulated (hemostatic) by the Joule heat effect,
Alternatively, the affected part is incised by the discharge effect.

However, during coagulation or incision,
The affected area generates heat due to the use of high frequency current. As a result, heat is transmitted to the affected area and the surrounding area where the treatment is being performed, and even normal tissue may be destroyed. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem,
An arrangement in which a perfusion tube is provided inside a tweezer body has been proposed. According to the bipolar electric tweezers, at the time of coagulation or incision of an affected part, a physiological saline as a perfusate is dropped through a perfusion tube. As a result, the amount of heat generated at the affected part due to the high-frequency current is reduced, and damage to the tissue around the affected part can be minimized.

[0004]

However, in the conventional bipolar electric tweezers, during coagulation or incision, the interval between the two electrode portions of the tweezer body becomes very small. For this reason, physiological saline accumulates between both electrode parts, and both electrode parts are electrically short-circuited via the physiological saline. As a result, the affected part does not generate heat, and the coagulation ability or incision ability decreases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a perfusion solution from accumulating between both electrode portions of a tweezer body, thereby coagulating without increasing a high-frequency current value. -To provide bipolar electric tweezers capable of making an incision.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an electrode portion through which a high-frequency current is applied is provided inside the front end of a tweezers body which can be opened and closed, and a perfusion is applied to an affected part. A perfusion tube for dropping a liquid is provided in the tweezer body, and a gas pressure feed tube for pumping compressed gas is provided in a bipolar electric tweezer in which a discharge port of the perfusion tube is arranged near the electrode portion. The gist of the present invention is that the air outlet is disposed facing the electrode portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the bipolar electric tweezers according to the first aspect, the outlet is opened at a rear end side of the tweezers main body with respect to an electrode portion, and a front end side of the tweezers main body is opened. The gist is that they are arranged to face.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the bipolar electric tweezers according to the first or second aspect, at least a part of the perfusion tube is shared with the gas pressure feed tube, and is connected to the discharge port which also serves as the blowout port. The gist is that the perfusate is blown out in the form of a mist.

The "action" of the present invention will be described below. According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the affected part is sandwiched between the front ends of the tweezers body and a high-frequency current is applied to the electrode part, the affected part is coagulated or incised by heat generated by the high-frequency current. At the time of this coagulation or incision, the perfusate is supplied to the affected part between the two electrode parts via the perfusion tube, and the affected part is cooled. At the same time, the compressed gas is blown out toward the electrode unit via the gas pressure pipe. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the perfusate to accumulate between the two electrode portions. Therefore, there is no electrical short circuit between the two electrode parts via the perfusate, and Joule heat is generated reliably in the affected part.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the compressed gas is blown from a position rearward of the electrode portion toward the front end of the tweezer body. Therefore, the perfusate between the two electrode portions is eliminated, and the accumulation of the perfusion solution between the two electrode portions is reliably prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the compressed gas and the perfusate are mixed and blown out from the discharge port of the perfusion tube also serving as the gas pressure feed tube. Therefore, the perfusate becomes mist-like, and even if there is bleeding or the like in the affected part, the blood is washed away, so that the affected part can be easily recognized.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tweezer body 11 having a pair of arms 11a and 11b is formed in a forked shape, and its front end is openable and closable. That is, the front end of the tweezers body 11 is always open, and closes against its own elastic force. In the present embodiment, titanium is used as a material for forming the arms 11a and 11b of the tweezers main body 11. This is to reduce the weight of the entire tweezer body 11.

Electrodes 12 and 13 are formed on the inner surface of the front end of the tweezers body 11 so as to face each other. or,
A high frequency generator 15 is electrically connected to a connection portion 14 formed at the rear end of the tweezer body 11. Then, a high-frequency current from the high-frequency generator 15 is supplied to each of the electrode portions 12 and 13.

The surface of the tweezers body 11 except for the electrodes 12, 13 and the connecting portion 14 is coated with Teflon (ethylene tetrafluoride). This allows
The portions other than the electrode portions 12 and 13 and the connection portion 14 are insulated. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a tube mounting groove 16 is formed on the inner surface of the one arm portion 11 a of the tweezer body 11 along the longitudinal direction of the tweezer body 11. The pipe mounting groove 16 extends from near the center of the tweezers body 11 to near the front end.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a perfusion tube 21 is connected to a container 20 containing a physiological saline as a perfusion solution. A part of the perfusion tube 21 is mounted on a rotary pump 23 provided in the control device 22. And
The rotation of the rotary pump 23 causes the container 2
Physiological saline within 0 is pressure-fed in the perfusion tube 21 and is discharged by a predetermined amount from its discharge port (see FIG. 2) 21a. Further, the discharge port 21a of the perfusion tube 21 is opened on the rear end side of the tweezers main body 11 with respect to the electrodes 12 and 13. That is, the discharge port 21a of the perfusion tube 21
Are arranged so as to face the front end side of the tweezer body 11.

A gas pressure feed pipe 26 is connected to the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 25, and the downstream end thereof is connected to the perfusion pipe 21 via a Y-shaped pipe 27 provided in the middle of the perfusion pipe 21.
That is, the perfusion tube 21 is connected to one of the Y-shaped tubes 27, and the gas pressure feeding tube 26 is connected to the other of the Y-shaped tubes 27. Then, a carbon dioxide gas (inert gas) as a compressed gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 25 to a part of the perfusion pipe 21 via the gas pressure feeding pipe 26 and the Y-shaped pipe 27, and is supplied to the perfusion pipe 21.
Is blown out from the discharge port 21a.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the gas pressure feed pipe 26 is used in common with a part of the perfusion pipe 21, and the outlet of the gas pressure feed pipe 26 also serves as the discharge port 21a. For this reason, the physiological saline and the carbon dioxide are mixed in the perfusion tube 21, and the physiological saline and the carbon dioxide are simultaneously blown out from the discharge port 21a. That is, the perfusion liquid is blown out in a mist form from the discharge port 21a of the perfusion tube 21.

Next, the operation of the bipolar electric tweezers configured as described above will be described. When a high-frequency current is applied to the electrodes 12 and 13 while a diseased part such as a living tissue or a blood vessel is sandwiched between the front ends of the tweezers main body 11, Joule heat is generated in the diseased part. Thereby, the affected part is coagulated or incised. During this coagulation or incision, the perfusion tube 21
A mist-like physiological saline solution containing carbon dioxide gas is blown out from the discharge port 21a toward the electrode portions 12 and 13 to cool the affected part and its peripheral part. Therefore, even if the affected part generates heat due to the high-frequency current, the heat does not affect normal tissues around the affected part being treated. In addition, even if the affected part is cooled, it is needless to say that the affected part is cooled so as not to affect the coagulation or incision.

When the affected part is sandwiched between the front ends of the tweezers main body 11, the interval between the two electrode parts 12, 13 is very small. However, since the physiological saline is in the form of a mist, the physiological saline does not accumulate between the electrode portions 12 and 13.
Therefore, there is no short circuit between the two electrode portions 12 and 13. As a result, the affected part between the two electrode parts 12 and 13 surely generates heat. In addition, since the blood that has come out of the affected area is washed by the mist-like physiological saline, the affected area is not stained red, and is easy to see.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Inside the front end of the tweezers body 11 that can be opened and closed,
Electrode portions 12 and 13 through which a high-frequency current flows are provided. The tweezer body 11 is provided with a perfusion tube 21 for supplying physiological saline to the affected part, and a discharge port 21 a of the perfusion tube 21 is arranged near one of the electrode portions 12.
Further, a discharge port 21 a also serving as an outlet of the gas pressure feed pipe 26 is arranged toward one electrode section 12.

For this reason, the physiological saline is blown out from the discharge port 21a of the perfusion tube 21 between the two electrode portions 12 and 13 together with the carbon dioxide gas. Accordingly, unlike the case where the physiological saline is simply dropped, the physiological saline does not accumulate between the two electrode portions 12 and 13. Therefore, both electrodes can be prevented from being electrically short-circuited via the physiological saline, and coagulation or incision of the affected part can be reliably performed. In addition, the calorific value of the affected part does not become too small and the coagulation ability or the incision ability does not decrease. As a result, coagulation or incision can be performed with a low high-frequency current value without increasing the high-frequency current value.

(2) The discharge port 21 a, which also serves as the outlet of the gas pressure feed pipe 26, is located closer to the tweezers body 1 than the electrode section 12.
1 is open at the rear end side. At the same time, the discharge port 21a is arranged so as to face the front end side of the tweezer body 11. Therefore, the physiological saline can be blown forward from the rear position of the electrode unit 12. Therefore, even if the interval between the two electrode portions 12 and 13 is small, the accumulation of the physiological saline between the two electrode portions 12 and 13 can be more reliably prevented. Further, since the physiological saline is blown forward, the physiological saline can be prevented from getting on the operator's hand, and the operability of the bipolar electric tweezers can be further improved.

(3) At least a part of the perfusion pipe 21 is shared with the gas pressure pipe 26. Physiological saline is blown out in a mist form from the outlet 21a which also serves as the outlet for carbon dioxide gas. For this reason, even if there is bleeding, the affected part can be washed, and the visibility of the affected part can be further improved during surgery. In addition, since only one pipe (perfusion tube 21) needs to be provided inside the tweezers main body 11, the number of pipes inside the tweezers main body 11 can be reduced. Therefore, a visual field during the operation can be secured, and the usability of the tweezers main body 11 is significantly improved.

(4) Since the physiological saline solution is mist-formed by carbon dioxide gas, even if a spark is generated in the electrode portions 12 and 13, it is possible to prevent ignition. (5) Since the saline is positively pumped by the rotary pump 23, a constant and sufficient amount of the saline can be reliably supplied. Therefore, the physiological saline can be surely made into a mist state.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. -Instead of using the rotary pump 23, the physiological saline may be naturally dropped and supplied like an infusion.

As shown in the above embodiment, the gas pressure feed pipe 26 may not be shared with a part of the perfusion pipe 21, but may be provided separately. In this case, one arm 11a of the tweezer body 11
The perfusion tube 21 may be provided inside the arm, and the gas pressure feed tube 26 may be provided inside the other arm 11b. Alternatively, the perfusion pipe 21 and the gas pressure feed pipe 26 may be arranged in parallel inside one arm 11a (the other arm 11b). According to such a configuration, the physiological saline is dropped onto the electrodes 12 and 13 via the perfusion tube 21, and the physiological saline is blown off toward the electrodes 12 and 13 by the carbon dioxide gas. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, both electrode parts 12, 1
Accumulation of physiological saline between the three can be prevented.

Other liquids may be used besides using physiological saline as the perfusion liquid. -The material for forming the arms 11a and 11b of the tweezers body 11 may be changed to, for example, stainless steel, which is a biocompatible material, other than titanium. In this case, the manufacturing cost of the tweezer body 11 can be reduced.

The perfusion tube 21 may be embedded in the arm 11a of the tweezer body 11 by insert molding or the like. In this case, the portion to be buried is changed to a metal such as stainless steel.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiments will be listed below together with their effects. (1) In claim 1 or 2, the discharge port doubles as the blowout port. According to this configuration, the number of components can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(2) In any one of the first to third aspects, the compressed gas is an inert gas. According to this configuration, even if a spark is generated from the electrode portion, the spark can be prevented from igniting.

(3) In the above (2), the inert gas is carbon dioxide. (4) In any one of the above items 1 to 3, (1) and (2), a pump for pumping the perfusate is provided. According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably supply the perfusate.

(5) In any one of claims 1 to 3, and (1) to (4), the perfusate is a physiological saline. (6) A method of using bipolar electric tweezers in which a living tissue or a blood vessel is sandwiched by a front end portion of a tweezer body and a high-frequency current is applied to apply heat to the living tissue or a blood vessel to coagulate or incise the tissue. A method of using bipolar electric tweezers, in which a perfusate is discharged from a front end of a tweezer body toward an electrode portion and a compressed gas is blown out.

According to this method, it is possible to prevent the perfusion solution from being accumulated between the two electrode portions of the tweezers main body, so that the coagulation / incision can be performed without increasing the high-frequency current value.

[0034]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the perfusion solution from being accumulated between the two electrode portions of the tweezers main body, thereby increasing the high-frequency current value. Coagulation and incision can be performed without the need.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably prevent the perfusion solution from being accumulated between the two electrode portions. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the affected part can be washed even if there is bleeding or the like, so that the visibility of the affected part can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of bipolar electric tweezers showing an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tweezer body.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of one arm of the tweezer body.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: tweezers main body, 12, 13: electrode part, 21: perfusion tube, 21a: discharge port (blow-out port), 26: gas pressure pipe.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An electrode part through which a high-frequency current is supplied is provided inside a front end of a tweezers body that can be opened and closed, a perfusion tube for supplying a perfusion solution to an affected part is provided in the tweezer body, and a discharge port of the perfusion tube is provided. Bipolar electric tweezers arranged near an electrode portion, wherein a gas pumping tube for pumping compressed gas is provided, and an outlet of the gas pumping tube is arranged toward the electrode portion. 2. The tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is opened at a rear end side of the tweezers main body with respect to the electrode portion, and is arranged so as to face a front end side of the tweezers main body. Bipolar electric tweezers. 3. The irrigant according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the irrigating pipe is shared with the gas pressure pipe, and the irrigating liquid is blown out in a mist form from the discharge port also serving as the blowing port. Bipolar electric tweezers according to claim 1.