Surgical instruments and procedures for stabilizing the beating heart during coronary artery bypass graft surgery
View Patent ↗Methods and devices which a surgeon may use to stabilize the beating heart during a surgical procedure on the heart. A stabilizing device may be introduced through an opening in the chest and brought into contact with the beating heart. By contacting the heart with the device and by exerting a stabilizing force on the device, the motion of the heart caused by the contraction of the heart muscles in a vicinity of a site of surgery to be performed, is effectively eliminated. A surgeon may contact the heart with the stabilizing means, assess the degree of movement of the anastomosis site, and exert a force on the stabilizing means such that the contraction of the beating heart causes only minimal excess motion at the surgery site. The stabilizing means may be attached to a rigid support or may be attached to a semi-rigid support which is rendered motionless mechanically, chemically, or by human intervention.
1. A device for stabilizing a portion of a beating heart, using a minimally invasive procedure, said device comprising:
at least one contact member configured to engage the surface of a beating heart in a deployed configuration to stabilize a portion of the beating heart in a vicinity of a location engaged by said at least one contact member, each said at least one contact member having a retracted configuration used for insertion of the at least one contact member through a minimally invasive opening in a patient, wherein each said at least one contact member has a first length in said deployed configuration and a second length in said retracted configuration, said second length being less than said first length;
an elongated member connected to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom, said elongated member having sufficient length such that a proximal end portion can extend outside of a patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart;
at least one controlling link connecting to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom along a length of said elongated member sufficient to extend a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link outside of the patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart ; and
an actuator linked to a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link and manipulatable, from a location outside the patient, to reposition said at least one contact member when said at least one contact member is inside of the patient.
2. A minimally invasive method of stabilizing a portion of a beating heart to facilitate performance of a surgical procedure, said method comprising the steps of:
positioning a stabilizing device through an opening in a patient such that at least one contact member of the device approximates a beating heart and an elongated member connecting to the at least one contact member extends such that a proximal end portion of the device extends outside of the opening;
manipulating an actuator at said proximal end portion of the device, outside of the patient to reposition at least one of said at least one contact members; and
engaging at least one of said at least one contact members to a surface of the beating heart to stabilize a portion of the beating heart in the vicinity of a location where said at least one contact member engages the surface.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein each said at least one contact member is rolled into an annular configuration in said retracted configuration.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein each said at least one contact member is folded about a central portion thereof in said retracted configuration.
5. The device of claim 4 , wherein each said central portion comprises a hinge.
6. The device of claim 1 , wherein each said at least one contact member comprises at least one wire, each said at least one wire being deformable into said retracted configuration.
7. A device for stabilizing a portion of a beating heart, using a minimally invasive procedure, said device comprising:
at least one contact member adapted to engage the surface of a beating heart in a deployed configuration to stabilize a portion of the beating heart in a vicinity of a location engaged by said at least one contact member, each said at least one contact member having a retracted configuration used for insertion of the at least one contact member through a minimally invasive opening in a patient, wherein each said at least one contact member is deformed in said retracted configuration and returns to an undeformed configuration in said deployed configuration;
an elongated member connected to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom, said elongated member having sufficient length such that a proximal end portion can extend outside of a patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart;
at least one controlling link connecting to said at least one contact member and extending proximally therefrom along a length of said elongated member sufficient to extend a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link outside of the patient, through an opening in the patient, when said at least one contact member engages the surface of the beating heart; and
an actuator linked to a proximal end portion of said at least one controlling link and manipulatable, from a location outside the patient, to reposition said at least one contact member when said at least one contact member is inside of the patient.
8. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member is rolled into an annular configuration in said retracted configuration.
9. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member is folded into a shortened configuration when in said retracted configuration.
10. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member comprises a wire that is deformed when inserted into said elongated member.
11. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member comprises a helical wire coil that is deformed in said retracted configuration.
12. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member comprises an inflatable balloon preshaped to said deployed configuration.
13. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member comprises a pair of contact members joined together at distal tips thereof
14. The device of claim 7 , wherein each said at least one contact member is unfolded into an elongated configuration when in said retracted configuration.