Tissue stabilizer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One aspect of this invention is a tissue stabilizer that comprises a malleable planar foot integrated into a flexible membrane.
The malleable planar foot has an open central region and a rigid arm connected to the foot.
The membrane integrated with the foot has a shape approximating the foot, a lower section having a bottom surface for contacting the tissue to be stabilized, and an upper section opposite the lower section.
The membrane has an inner chamber in fluid communication through an opening with a plurality of suction ports on the bottom surface.
An outlet port connects the inner chamber and suction ports to a negative pressure source.
The tissue stabilizer has a centrally-located open region through which the tissue to be stabilized can be accessed and is designed so that when the bottom surface of the membrane is positioned on a tissue to be stabilized and a negative pressure is applied to the outlet port, the bottom surface tends to conform to the surface contour of the tissue to be stabilized through the action of suction by the ports and compression by the foot.
A surgeon is then able to operate on the tissue through the open region.
Another aspect of this invention is a tissue stabilizer that comprises a flexible membrane suitable for integration with a malleable planar foot having a central access opening.
The membrane comprises a lower section having a bottom surface for contacting the tissue to be stabilized and a top section opposite the lower section.
Together the sections form an inner chamber in the membrane.
A plurality of suction ports are located on the bottom surface, each suction port being in fluid communication with the chamber through an opening.
An outlet port is in fluid communication with the inner chamber and suction ports and can be connected to a negative pressure source.
The membrane has a centrally-located open region through which the tissue to be stabilized can be accessed and a sleeve between the top and bottom sections designed to receive the malleable planar foot, which foot has an extension on each side of the central region