US Patent 7998061 Atraumatic arthroscopic instrument sheath and method

A removable, resilient atraumatic sheath for arthroscopic instruments. The sheath covers sharp edges on the arthroscopic instrument, particularly the distal tip of the rigid cannula, and thereby protects tissue and objects near a surgical site from accidental trauma. The sheath may be provided in the form of an inflow/outflow sheath that allows a surgeon to irrigate and drain a surgical field without the use of a separate irrigation instrument.