ELECTROSURGICAL PENCIL WITH A SMOKE EVAPORATION TUBE
An electrosurgical pencil for cutting tissue during surgery by application of electrical energy supplied from a generator. A tube is provided for evacuation of smoke from the site of surgery. To improve flexibility and reduce the stiffness of the tube while maintaining generally the shape and ability of the tube to conduct smoke from the site, the tube comprises a polymer film, herein referred to as sheath stretched by at least one reinforcement element.
1 . An electrosurgical pencil for cutting tissue during surgery by application of electrical energy supplied from a generator, the pencil comprising an elongated body, an exposed electrode located at a distal end of the body, and a tube extending from an opposite proximal end of the body and facilitating smoke evacuation during surgery, the tube comprising a polymer sheath stretched by at least one reinforcement element.
2 . A pencil according to claim 1 , where the reinforcement element, in a cross-section (D), has a largest dimension being at least 20 times the thickness (t) of the sheath.
3 . The pencil according to claim 1 , where each reinforcement element has a stiffness in the range of at least 10 times the stiffness of the sheath.
4 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement element forms spiral convolutions.
5 . The pencil according to claim 4 , wherein the spiral convolutions form a pitch in the range of 0.2-2 times a cross sectional dimension of the tube.
6 . The pencil according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of reinforcement elements arranged adjacently at a distance of at least 20 percent of a cross sectional dimension (y) of the tube.
7 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the stiffening element(s) is made from the same material as the sheath
8 . The pencil according to claim 1 , where at least one of the stiffening element and the sheath is made from a material selected from the group consisting of PE, EVA, ELVAX™ and combinations thereof.
9 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the stiffening element(s) has a cross sectional area of at least 0.15 times the cross sectional area of the body.
10 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the sheath comprises a polymeric material with polymer chains having a first prevailing direction.
11 . The pencil according to claim 10 , wherein the reinforcement element(s) comprises a polymeric material with polymer chains having a second prevailing direction being different from the first prevailing direction.
12 . The pencil according to claim 10 , wherein first prevailing direction is essentially perpendicular to the second prevailing direction.
13 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube encapsulates conduction means for supplying the electrode with energy from a generator.
14 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube is made by a process comprising the step of providing a tube with a sheath and at least one reinforcement element, and subsequently stretching the tube in axial direction by plastic deformation of the sheath to thereby provide an increased distanced between adjacent reinforcement elements or to provide an increased pitch between corresponding points on adjacent convolutions of a spiral shaped reinforcement element.
15 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube comprises a proximal section and a distal section and where the distance between adjacent reinforcement elements or convolutions of a spiral shaped reinforcement element is different in the proximal and distal sections.
16 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has an internal diameter in the range of 8-12 mm.
17 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has an external diameter in the range of 10-14 mm.
18 . The pencil according to claim 1 , comprising a proximal section and a distal section and wherein the proximal section has a larger diameter than the distal section.
19 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the sheath has a thickness in the range of 0.04-0.06 mm.
20 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube is detachable from the body.
21 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has shape memory properties with a shape in a relaxed state by which the axial distance between two corresponding points on two adjacent convolutions of a reinforcement element or on two adjacent reinforcement elements is in the range of 3-9 mm.
22 . The pencil according to claim 21 wherein the tube is stretchable by elastic deformation such that a maximum length is in the range of 130-200 percent of the length in the relaxed state.
23 . The pencil according to claim 1 , wherein the tube extends in one piece from the body of the pencil to a source of suction.
24 . The pencil according to claim 1 , comprising a coupling allowing detachable fixing of the tube to a source of suction, the coupling being formed integrally with at least the reinforcement element of the tube.
25 . A method of providing smoke evacuation during an electrosurgical procedure wherein the method comprises using a pencil according to claim 1 .