referring now to the drawings where like - referenced characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views , fig1 shows an extra - corporeal pneumoperitoneum glove enclosure 10 according to the invention applied to a patient &# 39 ; s anterior abdominal wall w . a surgeon &# 39 ; s hand extends into the abdominal cavity through a small muscle splitting incision which is protected from wound contamination by a wound protector / retractor 12 such as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 524 , 644 to berwyn m . crook . in one preferred embodiment , enclosure 10 includes an elongate gas impermeable flexible glove 14 of sufficient length to receive the hand and forearm of the surgeon . glove 14 extends from a proximal end cuff section 14a to a &# 34 ; fingerless ,&# 34 ; distal , hand section 14b and terminates with fingerholes 15 positioned to receive the full lengths of the surgeon &# 39 ; s thumb and fingers and to seal the glove snugly around the root of each as shown in fig2 . glove 14 defines an inner side 14c which faces outward in fig1 because cuff section 14a is inverted with the inside facing out . an inner surgical glove 16 , worn in direct contact with the hand , is contiguous with inner side 14c , and an outer surgical glove 18 , worn as extra precaution against leakage at fingerholes 15 , covers an outer side 14d . glove 14 is made of surgical grade supple transparent material in one size designed to seal around the fingers of a small hand but which will also stretch slightly under plastic deformation with residual elasticity to accommodate larger hands without constricting circulation to the fingers . a suitable material is 2 mil thick polyethylene film such as x - 2000 by pierson industries . the diameters of the fingerholes 15 in inches are as follows : thumb 0 . 98 , index finger 0 . 79 , middle finger 0 . 87 , ring finger 0 . 75 and pinky 0 . 63 . an annular quick connect and disconnect assembly 20 is permanently sealed around the end of cuff section 14a and removably sealed with an adhesive 22 to the abdominal skin around protector / retractor 12 . referring to fig3 - 6 assembly 20 includes interconnecting upper and lower seal rings 20a and 20b , preferably molded of a medical grade flexible , slightly resilient thermoplastic rubber of shore 80a hardness such as santoprene ® made by advanced elastomer systems . upper ring 20a defines an annular collar 24 permanently sealed around the periphery of cuff section 14a with an upwardly facing annular bead 26 concentrically disposed around collar 24 . lower ring 20b includes an annular flange 28 with adhesive 22 for applying ring 20b during surgery . a peel strip 30 ( fig2 ) covers the adhesive until the ring is to be applied to the skin of the abdomen . a preferred adhesive is it8 - 59 - a by tolas health care packaging of feasterville , pa . an annular member 32 sealed around the bottom to flange 28 extends upward and terminates in a downwardly facing annular groove 33 formed to interface in a tight seal with bead 26 of upper ring 20a . an annular detent 34 extending radially from bead 26 snaps into an annular groove 36 on the inner surface of member 26b when bead 26 and groove 33 are positively engaged as shown in fig3 . pull tabs 38 extending inward from cylinder 24 enable the surgeon &# 39 ; s fingers to pull detent 34 inward and disengage from groove 36 thereby releasing upper ring 16a from lower ring 20b as shown in fig4 . lower ring 20b further includes a normally closed gas relief valve 40 for limiting the pressure in the abdominal cavity . it comprises a seat 42 integrally molded in the periphery of lower ring 20b , a cap 44 , a poppet valve 46 , and a helical spring 48 . cap 44 is secured to ring 16b by turning it about its cylindrical axis until tabs 43a on the bottom edge mate with slots 43b around seat 42 . an aperture 44a in the top of cap 44 guides a stem 46a of plunger 46 onto seat 42 as well as serves as a vent for sufflation gas released through valve 40 . spring 48 , around stem 46a between the top of cap 44 and a head 46b of plunger 46 urges valve 40 to a normally closed position . a recess 43 in the surface beneath seat 42 forms a channel 47 with flange 28 for continuously communicating between valve 40 and the abdominal cavity when lower seal ring 20b is adhered to the surface of the abdomen . if the cavity pressure exceeds a safe limit for pneumoperitoneum , e . g . 30 mm hg , plunger 46 lifts off of seal 42 against the force of spring 48 to release the gas . the materials of construction for cap 44 and plunger 46 are preferably a rigid thermoplastic polycarbonate of shore 80c hardness . fig1 and 11 represent a simplified annular quick connect and disconnect assembly 70 for glove 14 . the assembly includes a annular flange 72 of flexible plastic permanently heat - sealed or bonded around the end of cuff section 14a . an adhesive 74 is coated on the bottom side of flange 72 for applying to the skin or a surgical drape around the site of the incision . complementary peelable strips 76 around respective halves of the flange cover the adhesive until the glove is attached to the skin or drape . a preferred material for flange 72 is a 4 mil plastic laminate of eva / surlyn ®/ ea , and a preferred adhesive is it8 - 59 - a supra . glove 14 includes an instrument port 50 located in cuff section 14a as an optional entry into the abdominal cavity for instruments such as graspers , staplers , clip appliers , scopes , etc . referring to fig7 and 8 , port 50 includes a generally cylindrical housing 52 with a flanged base 52a at one end secured to the inner side 14a of cuff section 14b . the other end defines a cone - shaped wall 52b tapering along its conical axis into the housing to a circular hole 54 at the small end which is sized for slidably receiving an instrument without leakage . a duckbill valve 56 prevents pressure loss when no instrument is present in port 50 . it comprises a flanged base 56a at one end secured to the inside of the housing 52 adjacent to wall 52b . the other end tapers to a normally closed slit 56b spaced below hole 54 in a plane transverse to the conical axis of wall 50b . housing 50 and insert 52 must have sufficient resilience for wall 50b to form a gas - tight seal around the instrument &# 39 ; s surface and to ensure that slit 56a closes tightly after the instrument is withdrawn . a suitable material found for this purpose is a molded thermoplastic rubber such as santoprene ® by advanced elastomer systems . fig9 illustrates an alternate embodiment of an extended pneumoperitoneum enclosure 60 according to the invention for use in place of the glove enclosure 10 during interruptions in surgery conducted under pneumoperitoneum conditions . it comprises a dome - shaped envelope 62 of thin transparent flexible polyethylene film and an upper seal ring 64 of like construction as upper seal ring 20a . the perimeter at the open base is sealed around upper seal ring 64 and interconnects with lower seal ring 20b of assembly 20 . of course enclosure 60 may also include its own lower seal ring . access by surgical instruments is provided by an instrument port 66 , like port 50 , secured to envelope 62 . a method according to the invention for performing hand - assisted abdominal laparoscopic surgery utilizing the extended pneumoperitoneum enclosures as above - described is as follows . the site for making the incision is precisely traced on the abdomen of the patient . in the embodiment of fig1 - 8 , seal ring 20b and glove 14 are preferably separated from upper seal ring 20a and put on by the surgeon &# 39 ; s hand before ring 20a is attached to the abdomen in order to afford a more clear unobstructed view of the tracing . peel strip 30 covering adhesive 22 on lower ring 20b is removed and the ring adhered to the abdomen around the tracing . guided by the tracing , a small muscle - splitting incision is made through the abdomen wall sufficient in size to allow the surgeon &# 39 ; s hand to pass through . the peritoneum is incised roughly the same amount . wound liner and retractor 12 is installed in the incision to protect the wound from contamination and to spread it apart for easier access by the hand . the abdomen wall and peritoneum may also be punctured at other locations for receiving an insufflator , a laparoscope and other instruments . wearing an inner surgical glove 16 , the surgeon dons glove 14 by placing his / her hand into fingerless hand section 14b until the thumb and fingers extend completely through fingerholes 15 and become snugly sealed thereby . cuff section 14a and upper ring 20a ( or assembly 70 of fig1 ) are drawn up over the forearm exposing the outer side 14d of fingerless section 14a . for added protection against leakage around holes 15 , an outer surgical glove 18 is preferably placed over the exposed finger portions of inner glove 16 and hand section 14a . if preferred , the surgeon may don the glove 14 and attach it to the lower ring 20b before incising the abdomen . cuff section 14a is then inverted with the facing inside out and upper ring 20a is sealed in lower ring 20b by pressing bead 26 into recess 33 until detent 34 of upper ring 20a snaps into groove 36 of lower ring 20b . the abdominal cavity and the annular envelope formed by glove 14 may now be insufflated to the desired pressure either through a separate cannula or through port 50 in glove 14 . the gloved hand may thereafter enter and re - enter the abdominal cavity as often as necessary during the surgery without losing pneumoperitoneum . any increase in insufflating gas pressure , such as caused by a sudden reduction in volume when inserting the hand , is prevented by pressure relief valve 40 . should an extended interruption in a surgical procedure be needed but still maintaining pneumoperitoneum , glove 14 , attached to upper seal ring 20a , may be disconnected leaving in place lower seal ring 20b . dome - shaped envelope 62 , attached to upper seal ring 64 , may then be connected to lower seal ring 20b and insufflation restored . of course , when using the embodiment of fig1 and 11 , the surgeon would don the glove 14 , peel strips 76 from the adhesive 74 and place the flange directly on the skin or surgical drape around the incision site after the wound liner and retractor 12 was installed . some of the many advantages and novel features of the invention should now be readily apparent . for example , an extracorporeal pneumoperitoneum enclosure is provided which can be continually worn by the surgeon during hand - assisted laparoscopic surgery under conditions of pneumoperitoneum without loss of dexterity . it allows the surgeon to quickly disconnect and reconnect the enclosure from the patient while still retaining it on his / her hand . an alternate embodiment provides a dome - like enclosure which can be substituted for the glove whenever a protracted interruption in medical procedure is necessary . it enables minimal invasive surgery and risk of damage to a patient &# 39 ; s immune system . due to the smaller incisions , shorter healing time and less time for recuperation in the hospital is possible . the enclosures are also relatively simple in design and easy to use . it will be understood , of course , that various changes in the details , materials , steps and arrangement of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims .
surgical apparatus for providing extracorporeal pneumoperitoneum . one embodiment provides a fluid and gas impremeable fingerless glove with a quick connect and disconnect assembly around the cuff of the glove which seals around an abdominal incision to allow hand - assisted minimally invasive surgery under conditions of pneumoperitoneum . another embodiment provides a dome - shaped enclosure with the quick connect and disconnect assembly which seals around an abdominal incision to maintain pneumoperitoneum during interruptions in a surgical procedure .