US Patent 7972326 Illuminated laser probe with adjustable area of illumination

An illuminated laser probe primarily designed for ophthalmic surgery provides both illumination light to a surgical site and laser light to the surgical site. The probe has an elongate handle with a tubular tip extending from a distal end of the handle. A length of illumination optic fiber and a length of laser optic fiber extend through the handle and the tip. A mechanism is provided on the handle at a position where the mechanism can easily be manipulated by a finger of a surgeons hand holding the handle. The mechanism is operatively connected with the laser optic fiber and is manipulated to selectively extend a distal portion of the optic fiber from the instrument tip and retract the distal portion of the optic fiber back into the instrument tip.