Retracting cannula

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/382,343, filed May 23, 2002, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Many reconstructive orthopedic surgeries can be performed either as open procedures or as arthroscopic procedures. Rapid recovery from arthroscopic surgical procedures makes them generally more preferred over open surgical procedures. Arthroscopic procedures, however, are difficult to perform in small workspaces, such as within a joint. Typically, an arthroscopic workspace is maintained by the ingress of pressurized fluid into the involved joint to separate the soft tissue from the joint surface. The size of the workspace that can be maintained solely by fluid pressure is restricted by practical limitations, however.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,196 issued Jul. 6, 1999 to Bobic et al. discloses a method and apparatus for repair of articular cartilage, such as in the knee, using osteochondral cores. The procedure can be performed arthroscopically, but as a practical matter open procedures must be used when articular cores larger than about 10 mm in diameter are indicated, due to the practical limitations of maintaining an arthroscopic workspace of sufficient size to accommodate the larger cores and associated harvesting instruments.

The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a retracting cannula. The retracting cannula is used for distracting tissue to provide a surgical workspace. The retracting cannula of the present invention is especially useful for maintaining a workspace in the knee joint for arthroscopic osteochondral transplantation procedures.

The retracting cannula of the present invention preferably comprises an outer cannula with a threaded outer surface for engaging the soft tissue to be distracted and an inner cannula with a curved distal end for contacting and sealing the bone surface of a joint, such as the articular surface of a knee. The outer cannula is slidably disposed over the inner cannula. After the inner cannula contacts the articular surface, further relative movement between the inner cannula and the outer cannula causes the soft tissue to distract from the articular surface. The outer cannula can be engaged with the inner cannula to maintain the soft tissue in a distracted position with respect to the articular surface. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the engagement between the inner and outer cannulas is accomplished with a post on the inner cannula which is rotatably engaged in a J-hook slot in the outer cannula. The retracting cannula is preferably formed of a polymer, preferably a clear polymer such as polycarbonate.

In the method of using the present invention, at least one dilator is first inserted into an incision made through the soft tissue. A second dilator is preferably inserted over the first dilator to widen the portal. The outer cannula is then advanced over the dilators and threaded into the soft tissue. The dilators are then removed, and the inner cannula is inserted into the outer cannula and slidably advanced relative to the outer cannula such that the distal end of the inner cannula contacts and seals the surface of the joint. Further advancement of the inner cannula relative to the outer cannula causes the tissue engaged by the threaded surface of the outer cannula to be drawn away from the inner tissue to establish the workspace. The inner and outer cannulas are then locked together (by rotatably engaging the post on the inner cannula into the J-hook slot in the outer cannula) to maintain the arthroscopic workspace. Arthroscopic osteochondral transplantation surgery can then be performed through the inner cannula.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the retracting cannula of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a first dilator inserted into an incision in accordance with the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a second dilator inserted over the first dilator in accordance with the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional and side views, respectively, of the outer cannula of the present invention inserted over the first and second dilators.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the inner cannula inserted into the outer cannula at an initial stage of insertion.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the inner and outer cannula with the inner cannula fully advanced against the joint surface, such that the outer cannula retracts the soft tissue with which it is engaged.

Referring first to FIG. 1 , the retracting cannula of the present invention, identified generally by reference numeral 2 , comprises two primary components: an inner cannula 4 and an outer cannula 6 . Outer cannula 6 includes a finger grip 8 on its proximal end and has a slightly tapered distal end. Outer cannula 6 is provided with a threaded outer surface 10 for engaging soft tissue 12 to be distracted, as described in greater detail below.

Inner cannula 4 has a curved distal end 14 for contacting and sealing the surface of tissue 16 , such as the surface of a joint, adjacent the soft tissue 12 to be distracted (see FIG. 7 ). Inner cannula 4 has a smooth outer surface and is dimensioned such that outer cannula 6 can be slidably disposed over inner cannula 4 . Inner cannula 4 is also engagable with outer cannula 6 by way of a post 18 on inner cannula 4 which can be rotated and engaged in one of a plurality of J-hook slots 20 provided in outer cannula 6 , as described below with reference to FIG. 7 .

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, retracting cannula 2 is designed to create a workspace in the knee for osteochondral transplantation surgery, such that inner cannula 4 contacts the articular surface of the knee, and outer cannula 6 engages the surrounding soft tissue to be distracted. The cannula set is preferably provided in a range of sizes (e.g., with an inner cannula diameter ranging from 12 mm to 20 mm), and the appropriately sized set is selected such that the inner diameter of the inner cannula 4 is larger than the outer diameter of the osteochondral core to be installed. Once the workspace has been created and inner cannula 4 has been engaged with outer cannula 6 , the osteochondral harvesting instruments and core are installed through inner cannula 4 The components of the present invention, including inner cannula 4 and outer cannula 6 , are preferably are made of a clear polymer, such as polycarbonate (Lexan) and preferably are autoclavable.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in the method of the present invention, a first dilator 22 is inserted into an incision made in soft tissue 12 . Prior to making the incision, a proper location is determined so that the first dilator 22 can be inserted at a straight angle with respect to the operative area. Preoperative diagnostics may include an arthroscopic assessment of the patient to get correct location, or other non-invasive procedures, such as MRI. Referring to FIG. 3 , following insertion of dilator 22 , a second dilator 24 is inserted (over the first dilator 22 ) to further expand the incision. Outer cannula 6 is then inserted over the second dilator 24 and rotated until the threads 10 on the outer surface of outer cannula 6 engage the soft tissue 12 , as shown in the cross-sectional and side views of FIGS. 4 and 5 . First dilator 22 and second dilator 24 are then removed, leaving outer cannula 4 engaged with outer tissue 12 . Next, inner cannula 4 is slidably advanced into outer cannula 6 until the distal end of inner cannula 6 abuts against the surface of the joint 16 , as shown in FIG. 6 . As shown in FIG. 7 , as inner cannula 4 is advanced, outer cannula 6 is drawn back relative to inner cannula 4 , pulling soft tissue 12 away from joint surface 26 to establish a surgical workspace 28 .

When sufficient separation has been achieved to create the desired surgical workspace 28 , inner cannula 4 is rotated such that post 18 is turned into and engages one of a plurality of J-hook notches 30 on the outer cannula 6 to hold the outer cannula 6 in place relative to inner cannula 4 . Other methods of locking the outer cannula in place relative to the inner cannula 4 could also be utilized. FIG. 7 depicts notch 20 on outer cannula 6 engaged with post 18 on inner cannula 4 to retain the soft tissue in its position relative to the joint surface. The relative position of the inner and outer cannulae can be adjusted by rotating the inner cannula 4 to align the post 18 with track 34 , and reposition the post 18 in the appropriate J-hook slot in outer cannula 6 . The notch nearest the threads provides the greatest amount of separation, as shown in FIG. 7 .

The above description and drawings illustrate preferred embodiments which achieve the objects, features and advantages of the present invention. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to the illustrated embodiments. Any modification of the present invention which comes within the spirit and scope of the following claims should be considered part of the present invention.