endoscopic dissector

Improving safety in cardiac surgery- 

Some endoscopic procedures require surgeons to operate within planes of tissue. In such surgeries, it is not possible to create a working space using insufflation, for example when dissecting adhered tissues. In these instances, tissue must be locally retracted and dissected which is often challenging since multiple endoscopic instruments are required to simultaneously retract and dissect the tissue. Furthermore, visualization of the surgical scene must be coordinated with a separate endoscopic device, posing ergonomic challenges to the surgeon. To meet these challenges, I worked with a team of cardiac surgeons to develop a device capable of effectively entering a tissue plane and creating a local working space within these layers of tissue to allow safe and effective dissection. The device was originally designed to aid the endoscopic removal of adhesions prior to re sternotomy and prevent catastrophic hemorrhaging events.