EP-3606442-B1 - DEVICE FOR CLOSING A TROCAR SITE

Inventors

• ANDRAOS, Youssef Assaad

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20180319

Claims (9)

1. A device for closing a trocar site, said device (1) consisting of a body (2) made from a resorbable, sterile and biocompatible polymer, wherein said body (2) features an elongate shape along a longitudinal axis (A) and is provided with a first extremal surface (3), with a second extremal surface (4), and with at least one longitudinal surface (5) which extends along said longitudinal axis (A) between said first extremal surface (3) and said second extremal surface (4), wherein at least a portion of said body (2), taken longitudinally between said first extremal surface (3) and said second extremal surface (4), is solid, wherein said body (2) has a truncated-cone shape, and said body (2) comprises a blind hole (6) in correspondence with one of the extremal surfaces (3, 4), the device (1) being characterized in that the second extremal surface (4) has a diameter (D4) smaller than the diameter (D3) of the first extremal surface (3), and wherein the blind hole (6) is cut in correspondence of said second extremal surface (4).
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the body (2) is made from hemostatic sponge.
3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said polymer is of animal origin.
4. The device according to one or more of the previous claims, wherein the body (2) has the shape of a solid of rotation about the longitudinal axis (A).
5. The device according to one or more of the previous claims, wherein said blind hole (6) is parallel to the longitudinal axis (A) of said device (1).
6. The device according to one or more of the previous claims wherein that the blind hole (6) is coaxial to the longitudinal axis (A) of said device (1).
7. The device according to one or more of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the hemostatic sponge has a porosity greater than 60%.
8. The device according to one or more of the previous claims, wherein said blind hole (6) has a circular or polygonal cross-section.
9. The device of one or more of the previous claims, wherein the length (L6) of the blind hole (6) is shorter than half the length (LI) of the body (2) of the device (1).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention refers to a device for closing a trocar site. More specifically, it refers to a device for closing a trocar site after surgery of an intra-abdominal cavity, used in particular in laparoscopic surgeries. STATE OF THE ART At present, about 90% of the intra-abdominal cavity surgical operations (for instance, digestive system, gynecologic, urologic, or vascular surgeries) takes place laparoscopically. In order to perform this type of surgery, a surgeon shall perform several incisions in the abdominal wall, so as to make it possible the introduction of the surgical instruments necessary for the type of surgical operation to be carried out. The introduction of surgical instruments is performed with the aid of devices called trocars, which hold the desired incisions temporarily open. Such incisions are referred to as trocar sites. At the end of the surgical operation, the surgeon shall remove the trocars from the abdominal wall of the patient and close the incisions, i.e. the trocar sites, to prevent complications such as bleeding, due to injuries to inner organs having taken place through a trocar sites, or herniations of inner organs. Such complications might lead to difficult, expensive, and lengthy corrective measures, such as blood transfusions, hernia repairs, or further surgical interventions. At present, the trocar sites are closed by way of a direct and/or laparoscopic suture. These conventional suturing techniques are difficult to carry out, in particular with obese patients, irrespective of the type of surgical intervention, even more in case of bariatric surgery. Although the use of various laparoscopic instruments has made it easier to close the trocar sites, this type of operation remains in any way difficult for a surgeon, in that it entails non-negligible risks of complications, such as the onset of nevromas or chronic pains, or breakages of suture or muscle. US 2007/270766 A1 relates to a portal plug that allows a surgeon to temporarily close a surgical portal while draining fluids from the soft tissue surrounding the surgical field. DE 10 2010 048908 A1 relates to a compressible plug insertable to a treatment site via a trocar. A funnel shaped insertion aid is also provided. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is set out in the appended set of claims. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device for closing trocar sites that allows to close such sites in a simple and safe manner. A further object of the invention is to provide a device that allows to make the trocar site closing operations efficient, easy, fast, and reproducible for any surgeons. A further object of the invention is to provide a device for closing trocar sites that is structurally simple, easy to use and to manufacture, and that can be used for any types of surgeries (for instance abdominal, thoracic, or arthroscopic surgeries). These objects and others, which will be apparent to the persons skilled in the art, are achieved by a device for closing trocar sites implemented according to the technical teachings of the attached claims. Advantageously, the device according to the invention comprises a so-called plug; more specifically, the device comprises a body made from a resorbable and sterile, biocompatible polymer, featuring an elongate shape along a longitudinal axis, and featuring a first and second extremal surfaces and at least one longitudinal surface, which extends along the longitudinal axis between the first and second extremal surfaces, at least a portion of the body taken longitudinally between these extremal surfaces being solid. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the device for closing a trocar site, illustrated for explanatory, hence non-limitative purposes in the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES Figures 3 and 4 are not according to the invention and are present for illustration purposes only.Figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the device for closing a trocar site;figure 2 is a view along the longitudinal axis of the device of figure 1;figure 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention; andfigure 4 is a view along the longitudinal axis of the device of figure 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to the mentioned figures, a device 1 for closing a trocar site is shown, the device 1 comprising a body 2 made from a resorbable and sterile, biocompatible polymer. The present invention refers to a device 1 consisting of a body 2 made from a resorbable, sterile and biocompatible polymer. The body 2 features an elongate shape along a longitudinal axis A and is provided with a first extremal surface 3, with a second extremal surface 4, and with at least one longitudinal surface 5 which extends along the longitudinal axis A between the first extremal surface 3 and the se