Illuminated and Modular Soft Tissue Retractor

Abstract

A surgical retractor for illuminating a surgical field includes an ergonomic handle, a retractor blade coupled with the handle, a quick release mechanism, and an illuminator blade. The retractor blade is adapted to engage and retract tissue, and the quick release mechanism is adapted to couple the handle with the retractor blade. The illuminator blade acts as a waveguide to transmit light by total internal reflection. Light is extracted from the illuminator to illuminate the surgical field. The retractor blade is releasable from the handle without requiring uncoupling of the illuminator blade from the handle and also without requiring optical uncoupling of the illuminator blade from a light source. The retractor may also be adapted to evacuate smoke from the surgical field.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An illuminated surgical instrument, comprising:
 a handle having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the handle comprises a central channel extending between the proximal end and the distal end;   a retractor blade releasably coupled to the distal end of the handle, wherein the retractor blade comprises:
 a first surface and a second surface, wherein the second surface is configured to engage and retract tissue, wherein the first surface faces away from the second surface, and 
 a slotted region extending along a length of the first surface; and 
   a quick release mechanism comprising an engagement element and a receptacle, wherein the engagement element is on one of the handle or the retractor blade and the receptacle is on the other of the handle or the retractor blade, wherein the engagement element is rotatably engageable with the receptacle, wherein the engagement element and the receptacle are configured such that (i) the retractor blade is rotatable in a first direction relative to the handle to couple the retractor blade to the handle and (ii) the retractor blade is rotatable in a second direction relative to the handle to decouple the retractor blade from the handle; and   an illumination device in the central channel of the handle, wherein the illumination device is configured to emit light along the slotted region of the retractor blade.