Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Kirk M Nicola

David A Witt

Thomas J Sierocuk

Craig B Berky

Matthew R Otten

Steven W Hamblin

Joseph Charles Hueil

Thomas W Huitema

Robert L Koch, Jr

Brian H Luscombe

Richard W Flaker

Robert G Cook

Eric J Butterfield

A surgical stapling instrument with a remotely articulated staple head assembly on a rotatable support shaft. A joy stick mounted to the shaft of the instrument near the handle allows for remote articulation of the staple head assembly. The staple head assembly includes a narrow contour for insertion between adjacent rib pairs without rib spreading. The staple head assembly further includes a reloadable staple cartridge which may be replaced with differently sized staples of a second cartridge. A closure trigger clamps tissue prior to stapling and cooperates with a second trigger that performs the staple firing operation. The triggers include a safety lock mechanism for preventing premature staple firing.

Reloadable surgical instrument

Surgical stapling instrument with remotely articulated stapling head

Surgical instrument having staple head adapted for rib insertion

A linear surgical stapler having clamping and firing triggers pivotally mounted to the frame of the instrument for pivotal rotation toward a hand grip is disclosed. The clamping trigger is positioned between the firing trigger and the hand grip. Each of the triggers are pivotally mounted to pivot pins spaced from each other within the body portion of the frame. Pivotal rotation of the first trigger is independent of pivotal rotation of the second trigger. When the clamping trigger is pivotally rotated toward the hand grip, the clamping and firing transmission assemblies move distally in tandem. Before the first trigger is pivoted, the firing transmission assembly blocks pivotal rotation of the second trigger. When the first trigger is pivoted, the initial distal movement of the firing transmission assembly enables the firing trigger to be in a position to pivotally rotate, and therefore cause the firing of staples. Additionally, a feature enabling the retention of the clamping trigger in intermediate and fully clamped positions is disclosed, where upon release of the retention feature, the clamping trigger can return to its original position by overriding the intermediate position. Finally, although the invention is described with particular reference to a linear stapler containing clamping and firing triggers, it has broader applicability to any surgical instrument which has first and second triggers pivotally actuated to transmit work to an end effector for performing first and second surgical functions during a desired surgical procedure.

Trigger mechanism for surgical instruments

Handle actuator for surgical instrument having flexible cable

Handle actuator for surgical instrument having clamp lock and emergency

An improved surgical stapling instrument is provided for applying surgical staples to human tissue. The instrument has an articulated stapling head assembly mounted by a rotatable and flexible support shaft on an actuator handle assembly with an improved actuator mechanism for closing and firing the stapling head assembly. The stapling head assembly comprises a fixed jaw with a staple cartridge and a movable jaw with an anvil for clamping the tissue therebetween. The actuator mechanism comprises a jaw closure lever for closing the jaws and a staple firing lever for actuating a staple driver to drive the staples from the staple cartridge into the tissue and against the anvil. The actuator mechanism also includes a cam pulley mounted for rotation by the staple firing lever and secured to a firing cable for actuating the staple driver. A set of drive gears rotatably positioned on opposite sides of the cam pulley mesh with gear sectors on the staple firing lever to rotate the cam pulley and apply tension to the firing cable when the staple firing lever is actuated. The cam pulley has a contoured cam lobe for actuating the firing cable with different mechanical advantages as the pulley is rotated. An anti-backup member engages the cam pulley to prevent the pay-out of the firing cable before and after the staple firing lever is actuated. The length of the support shaft can be adjusted to set the tension in the closure cable so that the jaws are completely closed by the jaw closure lever to produce staples of uniform height when the staple firing lever is actuated.

Surgical stapling instrument with improved jaw closure and staple firing

A two-part surgical fastener comprises a staple and a receiver which are adapted to secure body tissue together. The staple is generally U-shaped and includes at least two prongs with barbed distal ends which penetrate the tissue and are latched by the receiver. Each prong of the staple is configured as an elongated prism of hexagonal cross-section and includes a barbed tip with an enlarged hexagonal cross-section at its free end. Each aperture of the receiver is hexagonal in configuration and includes a pair of opposed ledges for engaging the barbed tip. The tip of each prong has a pointed distal end formed by a first pair of sloped surfaces which form the sharp angle and a second pair of sloped surfaces which form a blunt angle. The staple includes longitudinal ridges or grooves on the prongs which are engaged and guided by longitudinal channels or ribs provided in a staple cartridge. The staple and receiver consist of bioabsorbable material.

Surgical fasteners

Growing community of inventors

West Chester, OH, United States of America

Kirk M Nicola