SURGICAL INSTRUMENT

摘要

Surgical instruments (10) are disclosed for manipulating selected tissue in a body cavity under visual inspection. The preferred instrument includes a probe (12) in which a blade (14) is positioned, wherein the probe (12) includes a lateral aperture (13) near its distal end (12B). The blade (14) can be extended outwardly from the probe (12) along a path which is essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the probe (12). After the blade (14) has been extended it can be used to effectively divide tissue. An optical system (30) can be received in the probe (12) for viewing through the lateral aperture (13) in the probe (12).