Valve assembly for introducing instruments into body cavities.

摘要

A valve assembly (10) for maintaining a substantial fluid tight seal between an internal portion of a patient's body and an outside atmosphere during introduction of a surgical instrument into the patient's body, which comprises: at least one sealing gasket assembly (36) including at least a pair of overlapping elements (38,40) defining a passageway (46) therethrough, said elements forming a substantial gas tight seal prior to inserting an instrument therethrough, said elements being constructed of a flexible material to allow passage of said instrument through said passageway; and at least one deformable sealing element (20) fabricated at least in part from a flexibly resilient material and defining a substantially central aperture for accommodating said instrument such that said flexibly resilient material defining said aperture engages the surface of the instrument to provide a substantially fluid tight seal for preventing passage of fluids past said deformable sealing element. <IMAGE>