DE4212053C1 - Metal surgical instrument for HF or laser surgery - Google Patents

Abstract

The metal surgical instrument (1), for thermal cutting and/or coagulation of biological tissue and especially for HF or laser surgery, has a layer of hard material (2) at least partially over its surface. The hard layer (2) material is a metal-metalloid compound, alone or in a mixture. The metal is of the fourth to eighth side groups or an element of the third main group of the periodic system of the element. The metalloid is selected from groups containing nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and boron. The hard layer (2) can be of (TiNb)ON with 41 atom% titanium, 19 atom% niobium, 31 atom% nitrogen and 9 atom% oxygen. A corrosion protection layer (4) is of pure titanium, a titanium alloy, or pure niobium and tantalum and their alloys.

Description

The invention relates to surgical instruments made of metal for thermal cutting and / or coagulation of biological Ge weave, especially for cauterization, high frequency surgery or laser surgery, with a tissue adherence or their components in thermal cutting and / or Koagu preventive surface coating.

The sticking or even burning of biological tissue or their components during thermal cutting and / or Ko agulation processes on the surface of the used surgical instruments has been a well known pro for many years blem. This undesirable side effect is believed to be caused by Glucose caused by thermal denaturation of the in biological tissues contain more or less collagens arises.

Since this problem has been known for many years, they are Manufacturers of such instruments have long sought to remedy the situation create.

A well-known proposal to avoid biolo adherence genetic tissue or its components on the surface of Cutting electrodes during cutting operations consist of the Cutting electrode with such a thin layer of PTFE coat that on the one hand the adherence of tissue or its Components avoided, on the other hand electrical conductivity Sufficiently preserved between cutting electrode and tissue remains (U.S. Patent 4,876,110). This can cause difficulties to be avoided with known coatings for electrosurgical instruments have appeared (U.S. Patents 4,314,559, 4,333,467, 4 161 950 and 4 481 057), whereby however due to the during Cutting processes using HF current inevitable electri electric arc, this thin PTFE burns away relatively quickly, which is why cutting electrodes coated in this way only for one or at most in a limited number of operations that can.

Another known way to avoid sticking biological tissue or its components, in particular the Coagulates to the coagulation electrode during coagulation Purpose of hemostasis is during Koagu lation process a layer of water between the coagulati on the electrode and the tissue to be coagulated (H.-D. Reidenbach, high frequency and laser technology in medi  zin, page 148 ff., Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 1983). This method is complex in that it does this special coagulation electrodes are required, which min at least one channel for the instillation of sterile water between the Coagulation electrode and the tissue to be coagulated. A suitable sterile water supply is also required.

It is also known in bipolar surgery gripping instruments for HF surgery at least the one another facing carbide barrel surfaces places (DE 34 47 156 A1). The hoped-for anti has adhesive properties however, has not been confirmed.

It is also known a surgical needle in the area of their sharp Cutting with a vacuum evaporated hard layer provided (DE 38 41 443 C1).

It is an object of the invention to provide a surgical instrument type mentioned at the outset with such an adhering biolo gischer tissue or their components in thermal cutting the and / or coagulation preventing surface coating indicate that disadvantages and difficulties of the type mentioned can be largely avoided.

This object is achieved by the subject of claim 1 solved. Advantageous further developments of Invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

Surgical instruments according to the invention are used Avoiding biological tissue and / or their sticking Fabric components on their surface at least in the area Chen which with biological Ge weave and / or their tissue components come into contact can, with a hard material layer, consists of metal-metal loid connections, coated. Suitable hard material layer ten contain metals of the fourth to eighth subgroups such as Titanium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum or other of these subgroups of the Periodic Table of the Ele ment. The metal can also be an element of the third Main group of the Periodic Table of the Elements. As Metalloids are suitable for nitrogen, carbon and acid fabric and boron.

A particular advantage of the invention is the fact that in Contrary to a very thin coating of the surface of Cutting and / or coagulation instruments with PTFE an Be Layering made of metallic hard material is much more resistant against electric arcs and mechanical loads.

Hard material layers of the type of interest can be with the help known methods on the surface of surgical instruments, for example on high frequency coagulation electrodes surgery, cutting electrodes for high frequency surgery, Coagulation electrodes for laser surgery or electrocautery, be applied. Thin film processes are preferred Use where a physical (PVD process) or chemical (CVD) evaporation takes place. Preferential wise layer thicknesses of the hard material coating between 0.05 microns and 15 microns are provided so that a ko most economical production is possible.

One for the coating of surgical instruments for thermi rule cutting and / or coagulating preferred metallic  Hard material has the formulation (TiNb) ON, being 41 atomic percent Titanium, 19 atomic percent niobium, 31 atomic percent nitrogen and 9 Atomic percent oxygen are provided.

For a better equipotential distribution, the surface of the Hard material layer with a layer of gold, platinum or others Precious metals are equipped. The precious metal layer can be a Thickness between 0.01 and 3 microns. Under certain However, conditions can be applied to the coating of the hard layer of precious metal can be dispensed with.

If the metal body of the surgical instrument is rusty Free steel is there to improve the Cor protection against corrosion between the metal body and the hard material an intermediate layer made of pure titanium or a titanium alloy tion, or from pure niobium and tantalum or alloys thereof watch. This intermediate layer can have a thickness between 0.5 and have 8 microns.

The following are some embodiments of the invention be explained in more detail with reference to schematic drawings. It shows

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a coagulation electrode for high frequency surgery.

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a cutting electrode for high frequency electrosurgery;

Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a bipolar coagulation tweezers for high frequency surgery.

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a coagulation probe for laser surgery;

Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of a cautery.

In Fig. 1, a coagulation electrode 1 for high-frequency surgery is shown schematically, the surface of which is coated at least at the points where this coagulation electrode during coagulation processes with biological tissues and / or its components can come into contact with a hard material layer 2 . The coagulation electrode 1 is made of non-rusting stainless steel. The hard material layer 2 consists of a metal-metalloid compound or a mixture of different metal-metalloid compounds. Metals of the fourth to eighth subgroups of the periodic system of the elements can be used as the metal of the metal-metalloid compounds. Nitrogen, carbon and / or oxygen can be used as the metalloid of the metal-metalloid compound. The hard material layer 2 preferably consists of a total metal content between 30 and 70 atomic percent and is supplemented by metalloids to 100 atomic percent. The layer thickness is preferably 0.05 microns to 15 microns. For better equipotential distribution, the surface of the hard material layer 2 can , if necessary, be additionally coated with a thin noble metal layer 3 made of a noble metal, for example gold or platinum, it being possible for a layer thickness of this noble metal layer 3 of preferably 0.01 micrometers to 3 micrometers to be used. From case to case, it may be appropriate to apply a corrosion protection layer 4 made of pure titanium or a titanium alloy, or of pure niobium and tantalum or alloys thereof, to the surface of the coagulation electrode 1 , which consists for example of rustproof stainless steel, before a hard material coating takes place, the corrosion protection layer 4 can preferably have a layer thickness between 0.5 microns and 8 microns.

In Fig. 2, a cutting electrode 5 for high frequency surgery is shown schematically, which consists for example of non-rusting stainless steel and whose surface in the same way as described above for the coagulation electrode 1 in Fig. 1, with a hard material layer 2 and, if necessary, additionally with a precious metal layer 3 and / or a corrosion protection layer 4 is permitted.

In Fig. 3 a bipolar coagulation forceps 6 is schematically shown for the high frequency surgery, which for example is made of stainless steel and whose surface at least in the areas where they may come with biological tissues and / or their components into contact in the same manner as above the coagulation electrode in FIG. 1 described, is equipped with a hard material layer 2 and, if necessary additionally with a noble metal layer 3 and / or a corrosion protective layer 4 made.

In Fig. 4, a coagulation probe 7 for laser surgery is shown schematically, the laser-heated tip 8 , which consists for example of stainless steel, in the same manner as described above for the coagulation electrode 1 in Fig. 1, with a hard material layer 2 and if necessary is additionally equipped with a precious metal layer 3 and / or a corrosion protection layer 4 .

In Fig. 5, an electrocautery 9 is shown schematically, the electrically heated part 10 , which is made of platinum, for example, in the same way as described above for the coagulation electrode 1 in Fig. 1, with a hard material layer Fig. 2 and if necessary additionally is equipped with a precious metal layer 3 .

Claims (9)

1. Surgical instrument made of metal for thermal cutting and / or coagulation of biological tissue, in particular for high-frequency surgery or laser surgery, with a to the adherence of tissue or its components during thermal cutting and / or coagulation preventing surface coating, characterized in that the metallic upper surface of the instrument ( 1, 5, 6, 7, 9 ) is at least partially coated with a hard material layer ( 2 ). 2. Surgical instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the layer thickness of the hard material layer ( 2 ) is between 0.05 microns and 15 microns. 3. Surgical instrument according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the hard material layer ( 2 ) consists of one or a mixture of metal-metalloid compounds, the metal being a metal of the fourth to eighth sub-groups or an element of the third main groups of is periodic system of the elements, and the metalloid from which nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and boron are contained contains the group. 4. Surgical instrument according to claim 3, characterized in that the total metal content of the hard material layer ( 2 ) is between 30 and 70 atomic percent, and that the metalloids supplement to 100 atomic percent. 5. Surgical instrument according to claim 4, characterized in that the hard material layer ( 2 ) consists of (TiNb) ON, with 41 atomic percent titanium, 19 atomic percent niobium, 31 atomic percent nitrogen and 9 atomic percent oxygen. 6. Surgical instrument according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface of the hard material layer ( 2 ) is coated with a noble metal layer ( 3 ). 7. Surgical instrument according to claim 6, characterized in that the noble metal layer ( 3 ) has a thickness between 0.01 and 3 microns. 8. Surgical instrument according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that under the hard material layer ( 2 ) on the stainless steel metal body of the instrument ( 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ) a corrosion protection layer ( 4 ) made of pure titanium or a titanium alloy, or made of pure niobium and tantalum or alloys thereof. 9. Surgical instrument according to claim 8, characterized in that the anti-corrosion layer ( 4 ) has a thickness between 0.5 and 8 microns.