Surgical access port with multilayered tortuous path seal

1. A surgical access device, comprising:

a) a wound protector;

b) an instrument seal attached to the wound protector, the instrument seal comprising a plurality of resilient membranes each having a plurality of elongate parallel slits, the membranes being stacked upon one another such that the slits of a given membrane are oblique to the slits of the adjacent membranes to create a tortuous path preventing insufflatory gases from escaping through the instrument seal.

2. The surgical access of device of claim 1 , wherein the wound protector comprises a flexible sleeve extending between a proximal ring and distal ring.

3. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein the membranes are substantially flat and circular with a continuous periphery circumscribing the plurality of parallel slits.

4. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein the slits have an opening width in a resting state.

5. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein the membranes have an area between about 10 cm 2 and about 50 cm 2 .

6. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein each membrane has at least 10 slits.

7. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein the membranes are spaced from one another to define a gap therebetween.

8. The surgical access device of claim 7 , further comprising a plurality of beads positioned in the gap.

9. The surgical access device of claim 7 , further comprising a pressurized fluid in the gap.

10. The surgical access device of claim 9 , wherein the pressurized fluid is carbon dioxide and the gaseous pressure is equal to or greater than the pressure of the insufflatory gas.

11. The surgical access device of claim 1 , wherein the device is sized to receive a surgeon's arm.

12. A surgical access device, comprising:

a) a wound protector;

b) an instrument seal attached to the wound protector, the instrument seal comprising a plurality of substantially flat and circular resilient membranes each having a continuous periphery circumscribing the at least 10 parallel slits, the membranes being stacked and compressed upon one another such that the slits of a given membrane are not parallel to the slits of the adjacent membranes to create a tortuous path preventing insufflatory gases from escaping through the instrument seal.

13. The surgical access device of claim 12 , wherein the area circumscribed by the periphery is between about 10 cm 2 and about 50 cm 2 .

14. A surgical access device, comprising:

a) a wound protector;

b) an instrument seal attached to the wound protector, the instrument seal comprising one or more proximal resilient membranes and one or more distal resilient membranes, the one or more proximal and distal membranes being substantially flat and circular and having a continuous periphery circumscribing a plurality of parallel slits, the one or more proximal and distal membranes being spaced from one another to define a gap.

15. The surgical access device of claim 14 , further comprising a plurality of beads positioned in the gap.

16. The surgical access device of claim 14 , wherein the gap contains a pressurized carbon dioxide.