Retractor

1. An illuminated surgical retractor, comprising:

a blade portion having a top surface and a bottom surface, and having a proximal end and a distal end, said blade portion comprising an operative portion at the distal end, a saddle portion at the proximal end, and a barrel portion connecting said operative portion and said saddle portion;

a handle portion fixedly connected to said saddle portion; and

an illumination assembly comprising at least one direct light source at the distal end of the blade portion, and a switch for energizing the direct light source, said switch being located in said handle portion, and said direct light source connected to said switch by one or more wires,

wherein said one or more wires are parallel to raised guides that extend from a surface of said barrel portion into said saddle portion and said raised guides are configured to retain the one or more wires therebetween, and

wherein the raised guides include at least a first raised guide and a second raised guide parallel to the first guide and the first and second raised guides are configured to directly hold the one or more wires therebetween.

2. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein said saddle portion comprises flanges along the sides, said flanges extending further outwardly at a handle end of said saddle portion than at a barrel end and sides of the barrel portion extend from the bottom surface of the barrel portion.

3. A retractor as in claim 2 , wherein top edges of said flanges lie in a first plane that is angled approximately 45° from a second plane in which said handle portion lies.

4. A retractor as in claim 2 , wherein top edges of said flanges lie in a first plane that is angled approximately 45° from a third plane in which said blade portion lies.

5. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein the raised guides provide structural support for said blade portion.

6. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein the barrel portion defines an illuminated viewing slot.

7. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein the operative portion is angled downwardly away from the barrel portion.

8. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein one or more beams extend along a trough of the saddle section.

9. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein the operative portion comprises a plurality of ridges on the distal tip opposite the barrel portion.

10. A retractor as in claim 1 , further comprising a smoke evacuation channel.

11. A retractor as in claim 10 , further comprising a cover for said smoke evacuation channel.

12. A retractor as in claim 11 , wherein said cover for said smoke evacuation channel is configured to contain at least a portion of said illumination assembly.

13. A retractor as in claim 10 , wherein said smoke evacuation channel is configured to contain at least a portion of said direct light source.

14. A retractor as in claim 10 , wherein said smoke evacuation channel extends at least from said distal end of said blade portion to said handle portion.

15. A retractor as in claim 10 , further comprising a connection for a vacuum source.

16. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein an effective blocked view is less than 33 mm.

17. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein an effective blocked view is less than 40 mm.

18. A retractor as in claim 17 , wherein at least said blade portion is formed from plastic and said retractor withstands at least 40 lbs of pressure on the distal end of the blade portion.

19. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein at least said blade portion is formed from plastic and said retractor withstands at least 40 lbs of pressure on the distal end of the blade portion.

20. A retractor as in claim 1 , wherein blade and handle portions are constructed of glass fiber reinforced polyarylamide.

21. An illuminated surgical retractor, comprising:

a blade portion having a proximal end and a distal end, said blade portion comprising an operative portion at the distal end, a saddle portion at the proximal end, and a barrel portion connecting said operative portion and said saddle portion, the barrel portion having a concave bottom and an opposing top formed by edges thereof;

a handle portion integrally connected to said saddle portion; and

an illumination assembly comprising at least one direct light source at the distal end of the blade portion, and an activation device for energizing the direct light source, said activation device being located in said handle portion,

wherein said saddle portion is angled relative to the barrel portion to form a fixed joint between the barrel portion and the handle portion,

wherein said saddle portion comprises flanges along its sides, said flanges extending further outwardly at a handle end of said saddle portion than at a barrel end, and

wherein a width of the flanges is greater than a width of the handle portion and the flanges are recessed from a plane represented by the top of the barrel portion extending between the operative portion and the saddle portion along a majority portion of the length of the flange.

22. The illuminated surgical retractor in accordance with claim 21 , wherein a width of the saddle portion tapers from the handle end to the barrel end so that the width of the saddle portion at the handle end is greater than the width of the saddle portion at the barrel end.

23. An illuminated surgical retractor, comprising:

a handle portion extending in a first direction;

a blade portion extending from the handle portion and having a proximal end and a distal end, said blade portion comprising an operative portion at the distal end, a saddle portion at the proximal end, and a barrel portion connecting said operative portion and said saddle portion, wherein the barrel portion has a first surface facing in the first direction and a concave second surface facing in a second direction opposite to the first direction;

an illumination assembly comprising at least one direct light source at the distal end of the blade portion, and a switch for energizing the direct light source; and

a plurality of raised guides provided on the concave second surface of the barrel portion of the blade portion and extending along the saddle portion to the handle portion for strengthening a joint between the blade portion and the handle portion.

24. The illuminated surgical retractor in accordance with claim 23 , wherein the saddle portion forms a joint between the barrel portion and the handle portion and wherein the plurality of raised guides include raised guides provided at the saddle portion.

25. The illuminated surgical retractor in accordance with claim 23 , further comprising a cover attached to the blade portion and enclosing the raised guides.