the improved surgical combination apparatus according to the present invention may incorporate various first and second instruments . while the apparatus shown and described herein is a surgical combination inject and snare apparatus , wherein the first instrument is an injection needle and the second instrument is a snare , those skilled in the surgical arts will readily appreciate that the principles of the present invention have applicability to various other surgical combination apparatus . referring now to fig1 and 2 , therein illustrated is a surgical combination apparatus according to the present invention , generally designated by the reference numeral 10 . more particularly , the surgical apparatus 10 is a surgical combination inject and snare apparatus including , as a first instrument , a hollow injection needle 12 ( best seen in fig8 - 12 ) and , as a second instrument , a snare 14 ( best seen in fig3 - 7 ). in addition to the needle 12 and snare 14 , the surgical apparatus 10 includes sheathing means 16 for sheathing the first and second instruments 12 , 14 , actuator means , generally designated 18 , for manually controlling movement of the various elements 12 , 14 relative to one another , and biasing means 20 . the sheathing means 16 is a conventional catheter , formed of a flexible plastic and defining both an enlarged proximal end 30 fixedly secured to the actuator 18 and a distal or free end 32 for insertion into a patient . as will become clearer hereinafter , the actuator means 18 includes means for manually extending the first instrument or needle 12 a substantially fixed first length , relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 , and for independently but non - simultaneously extending or retracting the second instrument or snare 14 a variable second length , relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . the biasing means 20 may be a conventional spring for biasing the first instrument or needle 12 into retracting relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . the actuator means 18 and biasing means 20 together enable the first and second instruments 12 , 14 to be both extended and retracted , relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . turning now in greater detail to the actuator means 18 , broadly speaking the actuator means 18 comprises a support assembly generally designated 40 , a slider assembly generally designated 44 , and a rail assembly generally designated 50 . more particularly , as best seen in fig1 a , the axially or longitudinally extending rigid support assembly 40 comprises a support 41 and means 42 for grasping thereof , such as a thumb ring at one end . the first instrument or hollow injection needle 12 is secured to the support 41 by a hollow , flexible wire 43 for movement therewith as a unit . the support 41 at its proximal end , adjacent the grasping means 42 , defines an interior longitudinally - extending channel 60 therethrough . the support 41 at its distal end , adjacent the sheathing means 16 , defines a hollow cylinder 62 with a closed proximal end and an open distal end . the hollow , flexible wire 43 passes through cylinder 62 and provides fluid communication between needle 12 and hollow tubing 68 , the latter being adapted for connection to a fluid source ( not shown ) and secured to support 41 for movement therewith . as best seen in fig1 b , the slider assembly 44 comprises a slider 45 and means 46 for grasping thereof , such as a pair of finger rings on opposite sides thereof . the slider 45 is secured to the support assembly 40 for sliding longitudinal movement therealong in both directions . the second instrument or snare 14 is secured to the slider 45 by a typically solid , flexible electrically conductive wire 47 for movement therewith as a unit . an electrical contact 66 , adapted for conductive communication with a power source ( not shown ), is secured to slider 45 for movement as a unit therewith and provides for the communication of electrical energy to sheath 14 via conductive wire 47 passing through channel 60 and cylinder 62 . the support 41 and channel 60 of support assembly 40 are configured and dimensioned to receive the slider 45 of slider assembly 44 within the channel 60 and the grasping means 46 of slider assembly 44 laterally outwardly of the support 41 , thereby permitting relative movement of the slider 45 and its finger rings 46 relative to the support 41 and its thumb ring 42 . as the needle 12 is connected to the support assembly 40 by a flexible wire 43 and the snare 14 is connected to the slider assembly 44 by a flexible wire 47 , the needle 12 and snare 14 are in turn capable of relative , albeit non - simultaneous , motion . as best seen in fig1 c , the axially or longitudinally extending rail assembly 50 is provided for enabling independent but non - simultaneous sliding movement of the first instrument or needle 12 in opposite directions relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . the rail assembly 50 includes a pair of parallel rail means 51 longitudinally slidable with respect to the support assembly 40 . the proximal ends of the two rail means 51 each define a small outer lug 70 facing outwardly from the rail means 51 and a small inner lug 72 facing inwardly from the rail means 51 ( toward the support 41 ). the inner lugs 72 are received within longitudinal recesses 75 on the outer surfaces of the rail means 51 . the outer lugs 70 act as a stop to limit relative proximal movement of the slider 45 relative to the rail means 51 . accordingly , neglecting any locking means discussed hereinafter , a proximal movement of the slider 45 until it contacts the outer lugs 70 of the rail means 51 results in a retraction of the second instrument or snare 14 relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . further proximal movement of the slider 45 causes a corresponding proximal movement of the rail means 51 along longitudinal recesses 75 ( best seen in fig2 and 4 ) due to the engagement of the slider 45 and the outer lugs 72 , with a resultant exposure of the first instrument or needle 12 distally beyond the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 . the distal ends of the two rail means 51 are secured together by a connector 74 . the distal end of the connector 74 tapers inwardly and defines a surface 76 adapted to receive the proximal end 78 of catheter 16 , such that the entire catheter 16 ( including its distal tip 32 ) moves as a unit with the connector 74 and rail means 51 , and thus as a part of the rail assembly 50 . rotatably secured to the proximal end of the connector 74 is a piston 80 , which is configured and dimensioned to be slidingly received within the interior of cylinder 62 ( along with the spring 20 ) through the cylinder open distal end . the piston 80 is freely rotatable relative to the connector 74 over at least 45 degrees , but secured to the connector 74 for longitudinal movement as a unit . it will be appreciated that the support assembly 40 of fig1 a , the slider assembly 44 of fig1 b and the rail assembly 50 of fig1 c are each capable of independent sliding movement relative to one another , thereby to enable the unique motions of the present invention . movement of the slider assembly 44 toward the distal extreme relative to the support assembly 40 causes the second instrument or snare 14 to extend relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 , as illustrated in fig3 - 7 . movement of the slider assembly 44 towards the proximal extreme relative to the support assembly 40 causes the second instrument or snare 14 to retract relative to the catheter distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 , as illustrated in the neutral orientation of fig1 - 2 . neglecting for the moment the various locking means provided relative to needle movement , as discussed hereinafter , forcible proximal movement of the slider assembly 44 and the rail assembly 50 to the proximal extreme relative to the support assembly 40 causes the first instrument or needle 12 to extend relative to the distal end 32 of the sheathing means 16 against the biasing means 20 , as illustrated in fig8 - 12 . release of the slider assembly 44 and rail assembly 50 enables the biasing means 20 to return the slider assembly 44 and rail assembly 50 distally from the proximal extreme , and the first instrument or needle 12 to retract into the sheathing means 16 , as illustrated in the neutral orientation of fig1 - 2 . considering now the locking mechanisms , a lever 82 projects radially outwardly from the proximal end of the piston 80 and for rotational and longitudinal travel herewith is configured and dimensioned for travel ( with the entire rail assembly 50 ) along the l - shaped pathway 64 formed within the side wall of cylinder 62 . the distal face 84 of piston 80 is at all times disposed within the interior of cylinder 62 ( e . g ., due to stop pins , not shown ) and acts to maintain the spring 20 within the interior of cylinder 62 . however , the spring 20 in turn acts to bias the piston 80 for rotation . once the lever 82 is manually moved from transverse leg 646 into longitudinal leg 64 a , and the rail assembly 50 then moved distally relative to the support assembly 40 ( such that lever 82 travels distally along the longitudinal leg 64 a and eventually leaves the confines of the longitudinal leg 64 a of the l - shaped passageway 64 ), the spring 20 causes the piston 80 to rotate out of alignment with the longitudinal leg 64 a . because the inner lugs 72 on rail means 51 preferably abut the distal end of the longitudinal recesses 75 , lever 82 cannot move distally ( and the piston 80 is thus kept at least partially within cylinder 62 even in the absence of the aforementioned stop pins ). because the lever 82 abuts the distal end of the cylinder 62 , it cannot move proximally . thus , longitudinal movement of the lever 82 ( and thus the entire rail assembly 50 ) relative to the cylinder 62 ( and thus the entire support assembly 40 ) is precluded until the lever 82 is manually rotated back into alignment with the longitudinal leg 64 a of the l - shaped passageway 64 for distal movement therealong . similarly , once the lever 82 has been manually moved from in front of cylinder 62 to within longitudinal leg 64 a of the l - shaped passageway 64 , and then moved proximally therealong ( against the bias of spring 20 ) until it is aligned with the transverse leg 64 b of the l - shaped slot 64 , the spring 20 forces the entry of the lever 82 into the transverse leg 64 b , thereby to preclude any relative movement longitudinally of the lever 82 ( and thus the entire rail assembly 50 ) relative to the transverse leg 64 b ( and thus the entire support assembly 40 ). operation of the apparatus is very simple . referring now to fig1 and 2 , the apparatus 10 is illustrated therein a “ neutral ” or “ needle in , snare in ” orientation such as might be used for introduction of the catheter distal tip 32 to the desired location within the patient &# 39 ; s body . neither the needle 12 nor the snare 14 project distally of the catheter distal tip 32 where they might interfere with the threading of the tip 32 through the patient &# 39 ; s body . the piston 80 is disposed almost entirely distally of the cylinder 62 with the lever 82 resting on the distal face of the cylinder 62 . the proximal end of slider 45 is adjacent to or contacting the outer lugs 70 of the rail means 51 . referring now to fig8 - 12 , the apparatus 10 is illustrated therein in the “ needle out , snare in ” orientation . once the distal end 32 of catheter 16 has been properly located within the patient , the lever 82 is rotated until it is aligned with the longitudinal leg 64 a of the l - shaped passageway 64 of cylinder 62 . at the same time the finger grips 46 and thumb grip 42 are used to move the slider 45 proximally first against the outer lugs 70 of the rail means 51 and then even further proximally until the rail means 51 ( and thus the entire rail assembly 50 ) moves proximally . the inner lugs 72 of the rail means 51 ( best seen in fig1 c ) slidingly travel distally within the longitudinal recesses 75 on the outer surfaces of the support 41 ( best seen in fig2 and 4 ). at this point , as best seen in the fig8 and 9 , the finger grips 46 are closely disposed relative to the thumb grip 42 . during the above - described movement of the rail means 51 proximally relative to the support 41 , the lever 82 travels along the longitudinal leg 64 a and the piston 80 progressively enters the hollow cylinder 62 . finally , the lever 82 becomes aligned with the transverse leg 64 b and , under the influence of spring 20 , moves along the transverse leg 64 b , thereby blocking any further longitudinal movement of the rail assembly 50 relative to the support assembly 40 . typically , although not necessarily , there is still room within the longitudinal recesses 75 for further proximal movement of the rail assembly 50 relative to the support assembly 40 as the relative motion therebetween is best precluded by the interaction of the lever 82 and passageway 64 in order to achieve a locking effect . the length of longitudinal leg 64 a is preferably about 0 . 75 inch , although it may be shorter or longer depending upon the desired travel of the first instrument 12 . depending upon what one uses as the point of reference , in the “ needle out , snare in ” orientation , either the distal movement of the support assembly 40 relative to the rail assembly 50 results in a distal movement of the needle 12 relative to the catheter 16 or the distal movement of the rail assembly 50 relative to the support assembly 40 causes the catheter 16 to move proximally relative to the needle 12 such that the catheter distal tip 32 now exposes the distal tip of the needle 12 . in actuality , typically the catheter distal tip 32 is initially set against the polyp by the surgeon and the movement to the “ needle out , snare in ” orientation is effected by a forward movement of the support assembly 40 relative to the rail assembly 50 . the forward motion is driven and controlled by the thumb movement in thumb ring 42 , but it must first be enabled by the manual pivoting of lever 82 into alignment with the longitudinal leg 64 a ( i . e ., unlocking of lever 82 ). in any case , it will be appreciated that once the lever 82 has traversed the length of the longitudinal leg 64 a , and then entered into the transverse leg 64 b ( under the influence of spring 20 ), the apparatus is locked in the “ needle out , snare in ” orientation . at this time , the desired fluid may be introduced into the polyp through hollow tubing 68 , hollow wire 43 , and needle 12 without further action on the part of the surgeon to maintain the injection needle 12 in place . on the other hand , it should also be appreciated that the lever 82 initially acted as a safety or locking mechanism , precluding any distal advancement of the needle 12 until the lever 82 was manually aligned with the longitudinal leg 64 a . after sufficient fluid has been introduced into the polyp through hollow tubing 68 , wire 43 , and injection needle 12 , the fluid flow is terminated . then the lever 82 need only be back rotated along transverse leg 64 b until it is again in alignment with longitudinal leg 64 a ( i . e ., again unlocked ). at this point the energy stored in the compressed spring 20 will force piston 80 almost entirely out of the cylinder 62 and cause the piston 80 to rotate until lever 82 returns to its normal locked position outside of the passageway 64 . further forward movement of the rail assembly 50 relative to the support assembly 40 is precluded by the abutment of the inner lugs 72 on the distal ends of the recesses . due to the biasing of spring 20 , it is almost impossible to manually maintain piston 80 in an intermediate position within cylinder 62 — i . e ., with the lever 82 in the middle of longitudinal leg 64 a — so that the needle / piston travel is typically for the full length of longitudinal leg 64 a . thus , the surgeon has only to release the thumb pressure exerted on thumb grip 42 and rotate lever 82 within the transverse leg 64 b ; thereafter , the apparatus automatically returns itself , under the influence of spring 20 , to the “ neutral ” orientation illustrated in fig1 and 2 . referring now to fig3 - 7 , the apparatus 10 is illustrated therein in the “ needle in , snare out ” orientation . once the polyp has been injected with fluid from the injection needle 12 , the latter is returned to the neutral orientation . from there , the surgeon has only to move the slider assembly 44 distally relative to the rail assembly 50 . this is easily accomplished by separating the fingers in the finger grips 46 from the thumb in the thumb grip 42 . the abutment of the distal end of the slider 45 against the distal end of the channel 60 limits the forward movement of the slider 45 ( and hence the slider assembly 44 ) relative to the now locked together supra - assembly formed by the support assembly 40 and the rail assembly 50 . it will be appreciated that the piston 80 and lever 82 and the cylinder 62 and passageway 64 play no role in the movement of the sheath 14 relative to the catheter distal end 32 . the surgeon has only to manipulate reciprocatingly the finger grips 46 relative to the thumb grip 42 in order to cause distal emergence of the sheath 14 , trapping of the protruding polyp thereby , and withdrawal of the sheath 14 ( either with or without the polyp ) back into the catheter 16 . electrical energy may be introduced into the sheath 14 via contact 66 and electrically conductive wire 47 . to summarize , in the present invention the movement of the injection needle 12 is independent of the movement of the snare 14 , thereby to reduce the force which must be exerted during either movement . the interaction of the lever 82 and the passageway 64 provides a locking mechanism which must be manually unlocked in order to enable either extension or retraction of the needle , which enables the injection needle 12 to be maintained in the extended position without further action on the part of the surgeon , and which provides automatic retraction of the needle 12 when it is no longer required . the preferred embodiment allows the snare 14 to be extended a variable and sizable distance , limited essentially only by the length of channel 60 , while the injection needle 12 is extendable only a much shorter distance , typically limited by the length of the longitudinal leg 64 a . typically the extension of the needle 12 is for the full extent of the short distance as the maintenance of the lever 82 within the longitudinal leg 64 a is unstable due to the biasing of spring 20 . now that the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in art . accordingly , the spirit and scope of the present invention is to be construed broadly and limited only by the following claims , and not by the foregoing specification .
a surgical apparatus is provided having a first instrument and a second instrument which are independently operable , but may be used in tandem . the first instrument may comprise a needle and the second instrument may comprise a snare for cutting , excising , or trapping tissue . an actuator extends the needle a fixed first length relative to a distal end of the catheter for independently extending or retracting the second instrument a variable second length relative to the catheter distal end . the needle may be biased to retract relative to the distal end of the catheter . the actuator has a support and a slider . the slider is connected to the support for movement in opposite directions relative the support to allow freedom of action . the first instrument is secured to the support and rail , and the second instrument is secured to the slider . a rail enables independent but non - simultaneous sliding movement of the first instrument , or needle , while the slider facilitates independent operation of the second instrument , or snare .