Suspension and retraction system for endoscopic surgery and method for using same

Claim 1

A lateral suspension device comprising: a wire guide for supporting a wire; a horizontal arm for supporting said wire guide; a pivot means for supporting said horizontal arm, said pivot means slidingly receiving said horizontal arm for movement relative thereto, said pivot means being rotatable about a horizontal axis; firstlock means for releasably preventing sliding movement of said horizontal arm relative to said pivot means; first clamp means, fixedly attached to said pivot means, for clampingly holding an end of a wire; second clamp means, slidably attached to said pivot means for movement relative thereto, for clampingly holding an end of a wire; gear means for moving said second clamp means relative to said pivot means; second lock means, connected to said gear means, for locking said second clamp means in position relative to said pivot means; vertical support means for supporting said pivot means above a surgical table; third clamp means for releasably connecting said vertical support means to said surgical table.