Project Description: 

Laparoscopies are minimally invasive procedures in which devices known as trocars are inserted to view and repair abnormalities in the abdomen. The 3-4 mm trocar that is used in surgery for infants and smaller children dislodges during surgery 100% of the time without intervention due to the patient’s thin abdominal walls. This can cause multiple complications such as CO2 leaking out, which is used to inflate the abdomen and create a working space. The current solution is to place a catheter sleeve around the trocar and stitch it to the abdomen; however, it is time consuming, difficult to adjust, and causes additional scarring. This method is also not 100% effective in holding the trocar in place. Our proposed device is an accessory that provides stability of the trocar to the abdomen so that insertion and removal of surgical instrumentation does not dislodge. We tested the time that it takes to insert the trocar with our accessory, the translation of the trocar during the procedure, and its ability to maintain pressure inside the abdomen. The three different design inputs that we tested provide strong evidence that our device improves upon current industry devices. Our device is 2.5x faster in insertion time compared to the catheter sleeve, and is more easily adjustable. It includes all the benefits of preventing dislodgement and maintaining CO2 pressure that the catheter sleeve improves upon. Overall, our device improves on the reusable trocar by decreasing the number of complications and the operating time.