Lateral access retractor and core insertion

1. A retractor apparatus comprising:

a retractor frame;

five arms attached to the retractor frame; and

five rods, each rod including a convex surface facing a center of the retractor frame and attached to one of the five arms,

wherein at least two of the five rods are movable independently from one another,

wherein a first rod of the five rods includes a longitudinal axis and is translatable along the longitudinal axis,

wherein the first rod is attached to a first arm of the five arms and is pivotable relative to the first arm, the axis of pivot being offset from the longitudinal axis through which the first rod translates, and

wherein the first arm has a length extending from a first end to a second end and a pivoting component attached to the first arm at the second end, the pivoting component attached to the arm through a pin coincident with the pivot axis and including the first rod movably attached thereon such that the pivoting component separates the first arm and the first rod.

2. The retractor apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first rod is pivotable up to twenty degrees outward and up to two degrees inward from a first rod orientation perpendicular to the first arm.

3. The retractor apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pivoting component includes a first engagement feature extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first rod and the rod includes an arm engagement portion with a second engagement feature extending parallel to the longitudinal axis so that rod is linearly translatable along the longitudinal axis in predetermined increments.

4. The retractor apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the five rods are cylindrical in shape.

5. The retractor apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one rod of the five rods is cannulated through its length, the cannulation having a size sufficient for placement of a guidewire therethrough.

6. A system comprising:

the retractor apparatus of claim 1 , and

a squid cap with a plurality of extension portions extending from a perimeter of a central portion such that an open volume exists between the plurality of extension portions,

wherein the squid cap is adapted to enclose and engage an outer envelope of the five rods.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the five rods are cylindrical in shape.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the extension portions are separated by slots on an end of the squid cap facing an end of the rods opposed the enclosed end, the slots sized to accommodate a rod therein.

9. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a probe disposed through a hole in the squid cap so that the probe is positioned in between the five rods.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the central portion has a cylindrical shape and an entirety of the extension portions have a truncated conical shape.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the open volume has a diameter sufficient to hold the five rods therein when the rods abut one another.

12. A system comprising:

The retractor apparatus of claim 1 , and

a core structure having longitudinally disposed grooves thereon, each groove shaped so that when the five rods are disposed therein, an outer diameter of the combined structure is the same as an outer diameter of the independent core structure.

13. A retractor apparatus comprising:

a retractor frame including a central frame, a first frame extension and a second frame extension, each of the frame extensions separately attached to the central frame;

a plurality of arms including a first arm and a second arm attached to the first frame extension and a third arm and a fourth arm attached to the second frame extension;

a plurality of rods, each rod attached to a respective one of the plurality of arms; and

a handle extending from the central frame, the handle including a first actuation mechanism and a second actuation mechanism,

wherein the first actuation mechanism is adjustable to control a distance between the second arm and fourth arm moving in unison relative to the first arm and the third arm, and

wherein the second actuation mechanism is adjustable to control a distance between the first frame extension and the second frame extension.

14. The retractor apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a first toeing cam on the retractor frame, the first toeing cam adapted to control toeing of a pair rods of the plurality of rods that are attached to the first arm and the second arm, respectively.

15. The retractor apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising a second toeing cam on the retractor frame, the second toeing cam adapted to control toeing of a pair of rods of the plurality of rods that are attached to the third arm and the fourth arm, respectively.

16. The retractor apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a fifth arm having a longitudinal axis, the fifth arm attached to the central frame and translatable along the longitudinal axis.

17. The retractor apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each of the first frame extension and the second frame extension include a free end remote from the central frame.

18. The retractor apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the first frame extension and the second frame extension are symmetrical about a central axis extending through the handle and the central frame.

19. The retractor apparatus of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the first actuation mechanism and the second actuation mechanism is accessible from a side of the frame parallel to a plane through the central frame, first frame extension and second frame extension.