Electrosurgical hand piece

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a surgical device, and more particularly to an electrosurgical hand piece.

[0003] The U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,719 discloses an electrosurgical hand piece comprising a handle, a nozzle, and an electrode. The nozzle is disposed at the front end of the handle and is provided with a nozzle passageway. The nozzle is provided at the rear end with a trailing body which is in turn provided with a receiving hole, in which the electrode is fixed such that the front end of the electrode is received in the nozzle passageway. The handle is connected at the rear end with a gas delivery apparatus by a tube. The gas, which generally is argon, is emitted by the nozzle via the handle passageway of the handle for removing the body fluid in the vicinity of a tissue under treatment. The electrode is connected with an electrosurgical generator (ESG) by a bonding wire via which the electrical energy provided by the ESG is transferred to the electrode. The electrode is thus made to generate a high voltage discharge for creating about an electrosurgical effect on a target tissue.

[0004] Such a prior art electrosurgical hand piece as described above is defective in design in that the electrode has only one supporting point such that the front end of the electrode is suspended, and that the electrode is apt to move aside in the surgical operation. As a result, a surgeon often fails to control with precision the action point of the electrosurgical effect provided by the electrosurgical hand piece. In addition, the head of the nozzle of the prior art electrosurgical hand piece is so fastigiated that it can not be used by a surgeon as a means to push away the healthy tissue to facilitate the treatment of the diseased or deformed tissue.

[0005] It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide an electrosurgical hand piece comprising a nozzle and an electrode which is securely received in place by the nozzle to prevent the electrode from swaying or tilting.

[0006] It is another objective of the present invention to provide an electrosurgical hand piece which enables a surgeon to use the hand piece to push away the tissue so as to facilitate the surgery of a specific tissue under treatment.

[0007] In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objectives of the present invention are attained by an electrosurgical hand piece comprising a handle with a handle passageway. A nozzle is disposed at one end of the handle and is provided with a nozzle paggageway in communication with the handle passageway. The nozzle is provided at the rear end with a first support portion, and in the nozzle passageway thereof with a second support portion. An electrode is fastened at the rear end thereof with the first support portion such that the front end of the electrode is supported by the second support portion. In light of the electrode being supported by two supporting points, the electrode is prevented from deviating from the center line of the nozzle passageway in the course of a surgical operation.

[0008] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 2 shows a partial longiotudinal sectional view of the structure of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along the direction indicated by a line 3—3 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0011] FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in use.

[0012] As shown in all drawings provided herewith, an electrosurgial hand piece embodied in the present invention comprises the following component parts.

[0013] A handle 10 is of a long tubular construction and is provided in the interior with a handle passageway 11. The handle 10 is connected at the rear end with one end of a tube 50 which is in turn connected at other end thereof with a gas delivery device 60 serving to provide the electrosurgical hand piece of the present invention with a predetermined gas, such as argon, via the tube 50. The handle passageway 11 of the handle 10 is provided therein with a bonding wire 71, which is connected with an electrosurgical generator 70.

[0014] A grip sleeve 12, which is a tube made of soft material, such as soft rubber or foaming material is provided on the handle 10 in interference fit status, but permits a user to shift the grip sleeve 12 along the handle 10 to locate at the position as he/she wants. A surgeon can grip the grip sleeve 12 to operate the hand piece of the present invention. The grip sleeve 12 provides the surgeon with an improved grip preventing fatigue during a long surgical operation.

[0015] A nozzle 20 has a base 21 and a head 22. The base 21 is provided at the front end with a stop portion 211, and in the center with a receiving hole 212. The base 21 is provided at the rear end with two extension arms 213 extending therefrom. The two extension arms (213) having at the outer ends thereof a first support portion 214 and at the center thereof a receiving hole 215. The support portion 214 permitting passages of gas along its side as shown in FIG. 2. The one end of the base 21, where the first support portion 214 is located, is snugly received in the handle 10 such that the stop portion 211 is rested against the handle 10. The head 22 is provided with a nozzle passageway 221 and a contacting portion 222 located at the outer side in proximity of the front end thereof. The contacting portion 222 is greater in outer diameter than the rest portion of the head 22 such that the front end of the outer diameter facing the head 22 becomes progressively smaller. The rear end of the head 22 is snugly received in the receiving hole 212 of the base 21, thereby enabling the gas to be emitted from the nozzle passageway 221 of the head 22 of the nozzle 20 via the tube 50 and the handle passageway 11.

[0016] A support member 30 is made of an insulation material, such as a semiconductor or ceramic. The support member 30 is a tubular body and is provided in the interior with four ribs 31 radially such that a opening 32 is formed between the top ends of the ribs 31, and that four channels 33 are formed between the adjoining ribs 31. The support member 30 is snugly disposed in the nozzle passageway 221 of the head 22 of the nozzle 20 and is located in proximity of a predetermined position of the front end opening of the nozzle passageway 221, thereby resulting in formation of the second support portion 23 of the nozzle 20.

[0017] The support member 30 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is an independent element. In practice, the circular wall of the nozzle passageway 221 may be provided with two or more ribs 31 which are formed integrally, thereby resulting in formation of the second support portion 23 in the nozzle 20.

[0018] An electrode 40 has a pointed front end. The electrode 40 is fixed at one side in proximity of the rear end thereof in the receiving hole 215 of the first support portion 214 of the nozzle base 21. One side in proximity of the front end of the electrode 40 is put through the opening 32 of the support member 30 in a loose-fitting manner. In other words, the outer ends of the ribs 31 may be slightly in contact with the electrode 40 or the outer ends of the ribs 31 may be separated from the electrode 40 by a minute interstice for supporting the electrode 40. The electrode 40 is thus supported simultaneously by the first support portion 214 and the support member 30 (the second support portion 23) such that the electrode 40 is kept at a predetermined position, and that the electrode 40 is prevented from moving aside. The electrode 40 is connected at the rear end with the bonding wire 71 via which the electrical energy generated by the electrosurgical generator 70 is transmitted to the electrode 40.

[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the use of the present invention a first step in which a ground wire 72 of the electrosurgical generator 70 is connected with a conductive plate 75 on which a patient lies. An attendant surgeon holds the handle 10 to enable the contacting portion 222 of the nozzle 20 to push away a healthy tissue 94 so as to orient at a target tissue 96. Subsequently, the gas delivery device 60 is started to enable the gas to flow through the nozzle passageway 221 of the nozzle 20 via the tube 50 and the handle passageway 11, and then through the channel 33 of the support member 30 before being emitted from the front end opening of the nozzle passageway 221 (as the arrows show in FIGS. 2 and 4) for removing the body fluid in the vicinity of the target tissue 96. The electrosurgical generator 70 is started at the same time such that the current is transmitted to the electrode 40 via the bonding wire 71. As a result, a high voltage discharge is brought about by the electrode 40 for treating the target tissue 96. Tn light of the electrode 40 being supported by the first support portion 214 and the support member 30 (the second support portion 23), the electrode 40 is secured in place along the center line of the nozzle passageway 221 in the course of the surgical operation, thereby enabling the attendant surgeon to control precisely the position of the electrosurgical effect on the target tissue 96 so as to improve the efficiency of the surgical operation.

[0020] The contacting portion 222 of the nozzle 20 is to facilitate the moving of the healthy tissue by the surgeon in the course of surgery. The contacting portion 222 may be embodied in other forms. For example, the contacting portion may be formed of a plurality of protruded rings which are arranged in a parallel manner. In addition, the contacting portion 222 may be formed of a protruded ring of a spiral shape. In other words, the embodiment described above is to be regarded in all respects as being merely illustrative and not restrictive. The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scopes of the following claims.

[0021] The advantages of the present invention are: first, the electrode 40 is supported by both the first support portion 214 and the support member 30 (the second support portion 23), so that the electrode 40 is kept along the central line of the nozzle passageway 221 of the nozzle 20 to provide the surgeon can operate the hand piece of the present invention precisely in the surgical operation. Second, the surgeon can move aside the healthy tissue by the contacting portion 222 of the nozzle 20 for facilitating the surgical operation, and the grip sleeve 12 will prevent surgeon from fatigue in a long time surgical operation.