Device to permit offpump beating heart coronary bypass surgery

摘要

A heart retractor links lifting of the heart and regional immobilization which stops one part of the heart from moving to allow expeditious suturing while permitting other parts of the heart to continue to function whereby coronary surgery can be performed on a beating heart while maintaining cardiac output unabated and uninterrupted. Circumflex coronary artery surgery can be performed using the heart retractor of the present invention. The retractor includes a plurality of flexible arms and a plurality of rigid arms as well as a surgery target immobilizing element. One form of the retractor can be sued in minimally invasive surgery, while other forms of the retractor can accommodate variations in heart size and paracardial spacing.

主权项

1. A heart positioning device for use in cardiac surgery on a beating heart, comprising:
a suction head adapted to positively engage the beating heart, said suction head including at least one suction element adapted to engage the surface of the heart by suction; and an arm supporting said suction head, said arm having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being further from said suction head than said distal end, said arm connected to said suction head and said distal end being directly connected to a distal end portion of said device, said arm being configurable to be flexible in an unlocked condition and rigid in a locked condition; wherein said suction head is releasably attachable to the beating heart, and when said suction head is positively engaged with the beating heart, and said arm is rigid and positioned to orient the beating heart in an unnatural position or orientation, the beating heart is maintained in the unnatural position and continues to beat and said suction head is movable, relative to said heart, by a force generated by the beating heart, whereby the beating heart, in a location engaged by said suction head, thereby remains movable relative to said arm.