A trocar (or trochar) is a medical or veterinary device used in minimally invasive surgery. Trocars are typically made up of an awl (which may be metal or plastic with a pointed or tapered tip), a cannula (essentially a rigid hollow tube) and often a seal.[1][2] Some trocars also include a valve mechanism to allow for insufflation. Trocars are designed for placement through the chest and abdominal walls during thoracoscopic and laparoscopic surgery, and each trocar functions as a portal for the subsequent insertion of other endoscopic instruments such as grasper, scissors, stapler, electrocautery, suction tip, etc. — hence the more commonly used colloquial jargon "port". Trocars also allow passive evacuation of excess gas or fluid from organs within the body.
- ^ Equipment and instrumentation for Laparoscopic bariatric surgery in Cleveland Clinic
- ^ Alph Degive, Précis de médicine opératoire vétérinaire, Asselin & Houzeau, 1908, p. 139