SKIN SEAL WITH INFLATABLE MEMBRANE

摘要

Surgical access devices for sealing an incision and providing a sealed access port for surgical instruments are disclosed. In one embodiment, a flexible skin seal (45) is fitted with one or more balloons (49, 50) in the inner bore (47). These balloons can be inflated after the skin seal is inserted into an incision in the abdomen. The balloons are soft and pliable and can conform to the instruments as they are moved during use. Both conventional surgical instruments and laparoscopic instruments may be inserted into the body through the balloons without disrupting the seal created by the balloons. In another embodiment, the skin seal may be provided with a balloon membrane that expands into a dumbbell, dog bone, or bow tie shaped balloon which pinches the skin between opposite ends of the dumbbell.