Face tip assembly for an endoscope

1. A face tip assembly for an endoscope for viewing a visually obscured portion of a body cavity and for surgically treating a portion of the body cavity with an operating tool, comprising:

a face tip housing having a plurality of outer wall surfaces, a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis;

at least one optical image channel port;

at least one optical image collector associated with the at least one optical image channel port and adapted to gather an image from within the body cavity;

at least one luminous conductor adapted to provide illumination to at least a portion of the body cavity;

at least one operating tool port adapted to permit the operating tool to pass outwardly from the face tip housing into the body cavity;

the at least one optical image channel port is located in a first outer wall surface of the face tip housing, the first outer wall surface facing toward the distal end of the face tip housing;

the at least one operating tool port is located in a second outer wall surface of the face tip assembly, the second outer wall surface generally lies in a plane which is disposed at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the face tip housing, and the second outer wall surface extends from the first wall surface toward the distal end of the face tip housing;

the second outer wall surface has a generally U-shaped configuration having first and second opposed side edges;

a third outer wall surface disposed between the first outer wall surface and the proximal end of the face tip housing;

a first, fourth outer wall surface disposed adjacent the first opposed side edge of the second outer wall surface and the third outer wall surface;

a second, fourth outer wall surface disposed adjacent the second opposed side edge of the second outer wall surface and the third outer wall surface; and

each fourth outer wall surface generally lies in a plane which slopes outwardly, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the face tip housing, and away from the second outer wall surface toward the third outer wall surface and toward the proximal end of the face tip housing.

2. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the face tip housing has a generally cylindrical cross-sectional configuration encompassed by the third outer wall surface.

3. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first outer wall surface generally is disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the face tip housing.

4. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one luminous conductor is located on the first outer wall surface.

5. The face tip assembly of claim 1 including at least one suction port located adjacent the second outer wall surface.

6. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second outer wall surface generally lies in a plane which is disposed at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the face tip housing, and the acute angle is between twenty and seventy degrees.

7. The face tip assembly of claim 6 , wherein the acute angle is approximately forty-five degrees.

8. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein the face tip housing has a fifth outer wall surface generally underlying the second outer wall surface, the fifth outer wall surface generally lies in a plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of the face tip housing.

9. The face tip assembly of claim 8 , wherein the face tip housing, including the second, third, fourth, and fifth outer wall surfaces define a shape that is complementary to a ureteral orifice, whereby the face tip housing may easily be inserted into a ureteral orifice and into a ureter.

10. The face tip assembly of claim 1 , wherein each fourth outer wall surface has a shape which resembles a parabola.