SURGICAL PENETRATION INSTRUMENT

摘要

A surgical penetration instrument is disclosed. It has an elongated shaft and a penetrating tip extending from the distal end of the shaft. A blade extends outwardly from the penetrating tip. The blade is transparent. When the penetrating tip is transparent, the tip not only facilitates penetration through bodily tissue but also acts as an imaging element in conjunction with an endoscope extending through the shaft of the instrument to simultaneously visualize the surgical field during penetration. Significantly, unlike a conventional metallic blade, the transparent blade will not obstruct the field of view as the instrument is advanced. When the penetrating tip is plastic, and the blade is composed of a transparent plastic, the blade can be joined to the tip using conventional plastic processing methods such as injection molding, thus reducing manufacturing costs incurred if a metallic blade were used. Also disclosed is a surgical penetration instrument with a plastic penetrating tip and a protective cap fitting over and enclosing a portion of the tip to prevent or lessen the possibility of breaking, cracking or otherwise damaging the tip.