Cilag International Gmbh

Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Cilag Cmbh International

Ethican Endo-surgery, Inc.

Geoffrey C Hueil

Frederick E Shelton, IV

Thomas W Huitema

Mark S Ortiz

Douglas B Hoffman

Patrick A Weizman

Jason L Harris

Jeffrey David Messerly

Steven G Hall

Galen C Robertson

Andrew M Zwolinski

Kevin Ross Doll

Kyle P Moore

Donna L Korvick

Bret William Smith

Jerome R Morgan

Jeffrey S Swayze

William Bruce Weisenburgh, Ii

Emily A Schellin

Joshua R Uth

Charles J Scheib

Richard William Timm

Anil K Nalagatla

Shailendra Kumar Parihar

Zhifan F Huang

Richard L Leimbach

Chester O Baxter, Iii

Chad Paul Boudreaux

Michael E Setser

Gregory J Bakos

Daniel J Mumaw

John V Hunt

Lauren S Weaner

Mark S Zeiner

Cory G Kimball

Israel Nur

Wells D Haberstich

David Keith Norvell

Nicholas J Ross

David C Yates

Michael J Vendely

Taylor W Aronhalt

Shane R Adams

Michael J Stokes

Dean B Bruewer

Gregory B Blair

Randall J Tanguay

Mark H Ransick

William David Kelly

Ronald John Kolata

Glen A Armstrong

Daniel F Dlugos, Jr

Eric W Thompson

Thomas A Gilker

Patrick J Swindon

Brian James Thompson

Michael S Cropper

Alec Ginggen

Aaron C Voegele

Randal T Byrum

Matthew S Corbin

Joseph Charles Hueil

Daniel L Baber

Rocco Crivelli

Paul T Franer

Amy L Marcotte

Kenneth E Hogue

Pierre R Mesnil

Robbin B Johnson

Kevin Michael Fiebig

Sean P Conlon

Adam David Hensel

Christopher W Widenhouse

David B Smith

Trevor J Barton

Scott A Woodruff

Tylor C Muhlenkamp

Nicholas Fanelli

Christopher J Schall

Douglas Jon Siebenaler

David T Krumanaker

Dean L Garner

Devanathan Raghavan

Aron O Zingman

Thomas E Adams

Mark Tsonton

Seth Daniel Holdmeyer

Jeffrey J Vaitekunas

Scott A Jenkins

Toralf Bork

Venkataramanan Mandakolathur Vasudevan

David M Brooks

Gary S Jaworek

Christoph L Gillum

Hector Chow

Mark Richard Shaw

Bingshi Wang

Timothy P Lessek

Jacqueline A Anim

Samardh Onukuri

A fastener cartridge can include, one, a cartridge body comprising a deck and a plurality of fastener cavities and, two, a plurality of fasteners positioned in the fastener cavities. The cartridge body can further comprise extensions extending from the deck having different sizes and/or configurations. The extensions can control the flow of tissue relative to the deck and/or support the fasteners as they are ejected from the fastener cavities.

Fastener cartridges including extensions having different configurations

A fastener cartridge can comprise fastener cavities arranged in longitudinal rows. A first fastener having a first configuration and a second fastener having a second configuration can be stored within a longitudinal row. First fasteners having a first configuration can be stored within a first longitudinal row and second fasteners having a second configuration can be stored within a second longitudinal row. Each first fastener can have a proximal leg, or leg portion, extending at a first proximal angle and a distal leg, or leg portion, extending at a first distal angle and each second fastener can have a proximal leg, or leg portion, extending at a second proximal angle and a distal leg, or leg portion, extending at a second distal angle. The first proximal angle can be different than the second proximal angle and/or the first distal angle can be different than the second distal angle.

Fastener cartridge and fastener cartridge layer

A surgical instrument comprising an articulatable end effector and an articulation control system is disclosed. The articulation control system comprises actuators that, when actuated, cause the end effector to articulate in predetermined directions. When the end effector is rotated downwardly, the articulation control system flips, or switches, the response to the inputs from the actuators.

Stapling instrument comprising a mounted shaft orientation sensor

In various embodiments, a surgical stapling instrument can include a handle, a shaft extending from the handle, wherein the shaft defines an axis, and a disposable loading unit which is assembled to the shaft in a direction which is transverse to the shaft axis. Such a connection between the disposable loading unit and the shaft can prevent, or at least inhibit, the disposable loading unit from being unintentionally displaced proximally and/or distally relative to the shaft of the surgical instrument. The surgical stapling instrument and/or disposable loading unit can further include a threaded collar and/or detent assembly configured to hold the disposable loading unit in place. In various embodiments, a disposable loading unit can include a lockout feature which can prevent, or at least inhibit, an expended disposable loading unit from being reassembled to the elongated body of the surgical instrument.

End effector coupling arrangements for a surgical cutting and stapling instrument

A staple driver actuator for a surgical stapler includes a base having at least one bottom surface. The bottom surface defines a plane and is configured to slide longitudinally relative to a jaw of the surgical stapler. The staple driver actuator also includes a plurality of rails extending upwardly from the base. Each of the plurality of rails includes at least one cam surface, and each of the cam surfaces is inclined relative to the plane. The plurality of rails includes a laterally-opposed pair of outer rails and a laterally-opposed pair of inner rails. The staple driver actuator further includes a distal nose extending distally from at least a portion of the base and having at least one ledge surface. The ledge surface faces upwardly, is parallel to the plane, and is at least partially positioned distally relative to each of the outer and inner rails.

Surgical stapler end effector sled having cartridge wall support feature

Staple cartridges including a projection

An apparatus includes a jaw body configured to couple with an end effector portion of a surgical stapler and cooperate with an opposing jaw to compress, staple, and cut tissue. An anvil surface of the jaw body has a plurality of staple forming pockets configured to form a plurality of staples. An elongate slot extends through the anvil surface from a proximal slot end at a proximal end of the staple forming pockets to a distal slot end at a distal end of the staple forming pockets. A first slot portion is configured to slidably receive a first portion of a firing member, and a second slot portion opens to the anvil surface and is configured to slidably receive a second portion of the firing member. A dimension of the second slot portion varies along the longitudinal axis between the proximal slot end and the distal slot end.

Surgical stapler anvil jaw with variable firing member slot

A surgical stapling instrument comprising a tissue cutting knife movable through a staple cartridge to perform a staple firing stroke is disclosed. The stapling instrument further comprises a lockout system configured to prevent the tissue cutting knife from being moved through the staple firing stroke if the staple cartridge is missing from the stapling instrument and/or if the staple cartridge has been previously fired. The lockout system comprises a flexible spring that acts on the bottom of the tissue cutting knife at the initiation of the staple firing stroke to push the tissue cutting knife into a lockout recess if the staple cartridge is missing or has been previously fired.

Stapling instrument comprising a firing lockout

Surgical stapling instrument comprising internal passage between stapling cartridge and elongate channel

A surgical stapling instrument comprising a cartridge jaw configured to receive a staple cartridge, an anvil jaw, and a firing member configured to eject the staples from the staple cartridge during a firing stroke is disclosed. The anvil jaw comprises a stop extending into the cartridge jaw which prevents the staple cartridge from contacting the firing member when the staple cartridge is inserted into the cartridge jaw.

Stapling instrument comprising a staple cartridge insertion stop

Growing community of inventors

Mason, OH, United States of America

Geoffrey C Hueil