SURGICAL RETRACTOR FOR ROBOTIC AND/OR LAPAROSCOPIC SYSTEMS

摘要

A retractor of a robotic and/or laparoscopic surgery system is provided. The retractor may support in a generally uniformly distributed manner weight and/or massing of retracted internal patient tissue. The retractor typically comprises an arm extendable from the system terminating in a pair of graspers, and a weight distributing means located between the pair of graspers for distributing weight of retracted tissue, so as to avoid injury to the retracted tissue during deployment of the retractor. The graspers may have open and closed positions. The weight distributing means may comprise, e.g., a netting or a fabric, having a tautness effective to effect grasping and/or retraction action during deployment of the retractor. For example, the weight distributing means may in the alternative comprise a fan mechanism that optionally includes the pair of graspers. One or more surgical procedures may be performed using that retractor in a robotic and/or laparoscopic technique.