The present invention relates, in general, to devices in ophthalmologic surgery, and more particularly to a surgical device for carrying out ophthalmologic procedures, in particular for suctioning, cutting and removing of portions of the vitreous humor and/or tissue particles of the eye of a living being.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,643 describes a device for use in surgical procedures which includes a housing with an electrical motor drive disposed therein and a tube disposed at the outside of the housing. An inner tube is arranged coaxially in the housing and connected to an aspiration line, and a wobble plate is operatively connected to a sliding sleeve which is attached to the shaft of the electrical motor drive and with which the inner tube is movable by an oscillation drive in an axial direction relative to the suction opening at the distal end of the outer tube.
In conventional devices or instruments, in particular those that are used for surgical removal of portions of the vitreous humor or removal of tissue particles from the vitreous humor of an eye, the oscillation drive not only generates undesirable vibration but also limits the device to grab, cut and withdraw only smaller pieces of tissue because opening and closing process with respect to the suction opening are simultaneous. Thus, when removing longer pieces of connected tissue, the procedural removal steps must be repeated two or more times.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for use in aspirating, cutting and removing of portions of the vitreous humor or tissue particles of the eye, which obviates the afore-stated drawbacks.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved device which does not produce vibrations that interfere with the surgical procedure and which allows rapid grasping and cutting of also larger pieces of connected tissue portions of the vitreous humor and immediate removing of these pieces.
These objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are attained in accordance with the present invention by providing a housing, a guide tube disposed at the housing for insertion into a hollow space of the vitreous humor, with the guide tube having a distal end forming a suction opening, an inner tube received coaxially in the guide tube, a drive, and a control member operatively connected with the drive for moving the inner tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis between a resting position in which the suction opening of the guide tube is cleared to allow withdrawing the vitreous humor and/or tissue particles and a closing position in which the suction opening is sealed, said control member being configured to allow a movement of the inner tube in the guide tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis from the resting position to the closing position and back to the resting position by translating a rotational movement of the drive into a linear movement of the inner tube, and to refrain from acting on the inner tube at rotational movement of the drive when the inner tube is in the resting position.
In accordance with the invention, the device (high-speed cutter) does not produce vibrations that interfere with the surgical procedure and is able to reliably and quickly grab also larger pieces of connected tissue of the vitreous humor for subsequent removal. In operation, independently of the cutting frequency, the suction opening of the device according to the invention can be held in open position for a relatively long period to enable optimal aspiration, whereas closing and cutting of the differently shaped and dimensioned portions of the vitreous humor and the tissue particles can be carried out rapidly even when a great amount of material is being cut and removed.