Ethicon, Gmbh

Rain Bird Consumer Products Mfg. Corp.

Symbiosis Corporation

Roger L Hildwein

Paul F Riestenberg

Laura A Gallagher

Robert C Uschold

Rex Nagao

J D Staley, Jr

Mark S Zeiner

Thomas O Bales, Jr

Rudolph Henry Nobis

William D Fox

Richard C Smith

Federico Bilotti

Jurgen A Kortenbach

Stephen J Failla

Ronald J Brinkerhoff

Richard L Grant

Jerome E Reckelhoff

E David Allen

J David Hughett

Philip J Churchill

W Thompson Lawrence

Peter Lau

Craig E Beal

Randy J Cooper

James G Allemann

Glenn I Beal

Aaron D DeLaby

Helmut Wolf

Clifton Coles

A flexible endoscopic surgical port comprises a trocar tube or cannula made partially or entirely of flexible material which can be inserted into a body wall at an intercostal location to allow the insertion and manipulation of endoscopic surgical instruments within the thoracic cavity. The surgical port includes a hollow tubular body which is inserted through an intercostal opening in the body wall extending into the thoracic cavity with an annular flange at one end of the tubular body projecting radially outward and engaging the body wall adjacent to the opening. The flange is able to flex relative to the tubular body whereby the surgical instrument inserted in the tubular body can be manipulated over a wide range of motion inside the thoracic cavity. A retainer ring can be installed at the end of the tubular body opposite to the flange to secure the surgical port in the body wall. Improved obturators are provided for installation of the flexible surgical port.

Flexible endoscopic surgical port

Obturator for justing a flexible trocar tube

Flexible encoscopic surgical port

An applier for applying a bulldog clamp endoscopically, and the combination of such an applier with a bulldog clamp, is disclosed. The applier has an endoscopic portion and a handle portion. The handle portion can be manipulated to open and close gripping arms of the applier at the distal end of the endoscopic portion to correspondingly open and close the clamping jaws of the bulldog clamp. The principle feature of the invention is the ability to pivot the clamp while it is gripped within the gripping arms of the applier without the necessity of using another instrument or adjacent bodily tissue. Furthermore, it is possible to perform this pivoting movement from the proximal end of the applier, therefore enabling a surgeon to pivot the clamp from outside the body during endoscopic surgery. The preferred means for achieving pivoting movement includes the combination of a cantilevered spring mounted on one of the arms of the applier which biases the clamp off center from the longitudinal axis of the applier, and a guiding tube fitted over the endoscopic portion for steering the off-centered clamp. This steering function can be performed when the steering tube is moved distally to contact the clamp. The surgeon can then control the degree of pivoting movement by controlling the degree to which he advances the steering tube against the clamp.

Steerable bulldog clamp applier

A surgical stapling instrument for performing a circular anastomosis stapling operation is provided. The surgical instrument includes a stapling head assembly mounted by a curved shaft to an actuator handle assembly and incorporates an improved actuator mechanism for transmitting the required operating forces and movements from the actuator handle assembly through the curved shaft to an anvil and staple driver of the stapling head assembly. The stapling head assembly includes a longitudinally movable trocar detachably secured by one or more retainer clips on a hollow shaft of the anvil. When the trocar is retracted, the anvil shaft slides into a central support tube which aligns the anvil axially and circumferentially with a staple holder on the stapling head assembly. The retainer clips are locked against the trocar by the support tube and transmit tension from the trocar to the anvil with no tension load on the anvil shaft. The actuator mechanism permits adjustment of the anvil gap to produce a desired staple height and precludes actuation of the staple head assembly if the anvil gap is set outside of a predetermined range. Also, the actuator mechanism is adapted to both advance and retract the staple driver relative to the staple holder in the stapling head assembly. Further, an improved arrangement for attaching the support shaft to the stapling head assembly and to the actuator handle assembly is provided.

Surgical anastomosis stapling instrument

Lung clamp end effectors for a thoracoscopic surgical instrument are disclosed. The lung clamp end effectors have a base portion, an intermediate portion, and a distal portion. Each base portion has a first through-hole for pivotally engaging a pin of the clevis of the thoracoscopic surgical instrument, and preferably, a second through-hole used in conjunction with connecting links which connect the lung clamp end effector to the push rod. The through-holes on a particular end effector are located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the tool, thereby providing strong clamping action. The lung clamps are further arranged with their distal portions increasing in width to approximately 10 mm as they extend distally. The distal portion also have cut-outs which increase in width as they extend distally. The lung clamp end effectors are at least two inches long from their respective pivot through-holes to their respective distal ends.

Double acting, dual pivot thoracoscopic surgical lung clamps

An adjustable oscillating wave-type irrigation sprinkler having an impact or impulse drive type mechanism for effecting side-to-side oscillation by a spray tube about a horizontal axis, the drive mechanism including a pair of drive spoons coupled to impact arms journaled for rotation relative to the spray tube and intercepting streams of water from the spray tube to produce incremental rotation of the spray tube about the horizontal axis.

Adjustable oscillating wave-type sprinkler

Hose nozzle

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Roger L Hildwein