Ocular Shield Against Surgical Laser Energy

Lasers are being used with increasing frequency in a variety of surgical procedures. Use of laser devices for surgical procedures has many advantages but also some risks. In order to minimize risk to the patient, especially when procedures are being performed on the face or head, ocular shields have been used to protect the patient's eye so as to diffuse laser energy that might have been aimed inadvertently at the patient's eyes or globe and which could cause damage if unprotected. Protection of the patient's eyes is especially critical when lasers are used for skin resurfacing or incisional procedures performed on the head and neck of the patient.

At the present time, there are known and used ocular shields that are designed to conform to the ocular globe with a vault over the cornea. These shields are inserted behind the lids over the patient's eyes usually after application of a topical anesthetic and an ophthalmic ointment to aid in the comfort and safety of the patient These shields that are inserted behind the lids over the eye must be the proper size so as to cover the entire globe. Although the smaller shields are easier to insert and remove, it is important that the entire globe be covered especially during periorbital surgery.

Because of the possibility of discomfort and necessity of inserting shields of this type to protect the eyes, surgeons sometimes use either plastic suntan goggles or simply wet gauze placed over the eyes when not working really near the ocular globe. However, when the procedure is closer to the eye, the ocular shields must be inserted beneath the lids in order to provide adequate protection.

There is therefore a need for improved external ocular shields that are safe by covering the entire globe and lids and are comfortable for the patient and practical for the surgeon to use. Any such ocular shields must be autoclavable and totally non-reflective to the laser beam so as to prevent the laser beam from passing through and reflecting back onto the surgeon or other personnel in the operating room.

The invention provides external ocular protective shields that have non-reflective stainless steel shields joined together by an adjustable spring-tape nose piece and held tightly over the patient's eyes and lids by use of an elastic band placed around and behind the patient's head. The bands are removable for separate sterilization. The members that connect the eye shields and also provide for holding the shields in place around the patient's head are preferably very thin flexible wires that extend away from the patient's head to allow the surgeon to work any of the areas of the face without interference from the shields.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing ocular shields in place covering the eyes of the patient;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the shield illustrating the connecting and holding components;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view further illustrating the relationship of the shields, the connecting wires and elastic bands;

FIG. 4 is a view of one of the shields with the nose wire removed to show the connecting hook; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of another embodiment of the invention in which the temple wires are eliminated and a single elastic band is used to hold the shields in place.

Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the device of the invention includes a separate shield 10 for each of the eyes. Each shield is sized and shaped to cover the entire eye socket beneath the eyebrow and above the cheekbone and extending between the bridge of the nose and the temple. Each shield 10 has an inner surface 12 shaped to comfortably fit over the ocular globe and eye lid and a curved outer surface 14. The shields 10 are constructed of material, preferably metal such as stainless steel, titanium, etc. that has been surface treated so as to be non-reflective. The shields 10 are approximately 1 mm. in thickness. The material of the shields 10 will block the laser beam from passing through the shields 10. The outer surface 14 of each shield 10 is totally non-reflective to laser energy so as not to allow the laser energy to be reflected from the shield 10 to the surgeon or other personnel in the operating room. Surface treatments are well known to those skilled in the art to make the outer surface 12 of each shield 10 sufficiently non-reflective to diffuse the laser energy.

The inner corners of the shields 10 that rest near the nose of the patient are provided with an outwardly curved hook 16 (see FIG. 4) to which there is attached the coiled end 18 of a spring wire nose piece 20. The nose piece 20 biases the inner corners of the shields 10 toward each other, but the resiliency of the material in the nose piece 20 allows the shields 10 to be adjustably fit to the facial anatomy of the patient wearing the protective device. Also, the nose piece 20 extends generally outwardly from the shields 10 so as to provide adequate space beneath and around the nose piece 20 for the surgeon to perform any surgical procedures without interference from the nose piece 20. The nose piece 20 can be curved at its outer end 22 as shown in the drawings or the outer end 22 may be straight.

To comfortably hold the shields 10 in place on the patient and also provide a tight fit over the ocular globes and lids, the outer corners 24 of the shields 10 are also provided with attachment hooks 26 which curve outwardly away from the shields 10. These hooks provide for attachment of the coiled ends 28 of the temple wires 30, each of which wires 30 terminates in a free end with a retaining hook 32. Each of the temple wires 30 has a first portion 34 that extends outwardly away from the shield 10 and a second portion 36 which extends rearwardly toward the ear of the patient when the device is being worn. As best seen in FIG. 1, both the first portion 34 and second portion 36 are a considerable distance away from the head of the patient so as not to interfere with any of the surgical procedures being performed on the patient Each of the temple wires 30 also has a third portion 38 which extends inwardly toward the patient's head with the retaining hooks 32 being formed at the terminal ends of the third portions 38. Retaining hooks 32 provide for attachment of an elastic band 40 which fits around the back of the head of the patient to hold the external ocular shield device tightly and comfortably in place. Preferably, the length of the adjustable band 40 is adjustable in any suitable way such as providing loops 42 with slideable connectors 44. The elastic band 40 is easily removable from the retaining hooks 32 so that it can be separately sterilized. Also, since the elastic band 40 can become damaged if hit by a laser beam, the elastic band 40 can be easily replaced.

The temple wires 30 are also made of a spring wire material so that when the device of the invention is in place and properly adjusted on the patient, the eye shields 10 will fit tightly and comfortably over the ocular globes and lids. A tight and comfortable fit of the external shields 10 around the patient's eyes is necessary not only to directly block the laser beam to protect the eyes, but a proper fit will block the high energy light which can cause anxiety in the patient when the patient is not sedated. This embodiment is used primarily if the surgeon wishes to perform a procedure on the patient's skin between the eye and ear or over the nose.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which the temple wires 30 are not used, but rather a longer elastic band 40 is used, which band 40 is connected directly to the attachment hooks 26 at the outer corners of the shields 10. These hooks 26 are bent to a nearly closed position so as to hold the band 40 securely in place while still allowing voluntary removal and insertion of the band 40. This embodiment will provide a protective device that is simpler and less expensive to produce. More importantly, no elevated wires will be in the way of the surgeon, especially when the surgeon does not have to treat the nasal or temple areas.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the protective device of the invention has many features and advantages over prior art devices. The shields 10 are worn externally and provide a tight and comfortable fit that assures full protection of the ocular globes and lids during any surgical procedures using lasers. The nose and temple wires and elastic band combinations provide for adjustability of the device to accommodate the anatomy of any patient The optional use of the temple wires also facilitates use of the protective device of the invention for any procedure which is to be performed near the temple where the elastic would be in the way of the surgeon. Because the elastic band can be quickly and easily removed or even discarded, the shields and connecting wires can be quickly and easily autoclaved for reuse.

Having thus described the invention in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various revisions can be made to the preferred embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is my intention, however, that all such revisions and modifications that are evident to those skilled in the art will be included within the scope of the following claims.