Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Cilag International Gmbh

Makino Inc.

Steven G Hall

Frederick E Shelton, IV

Charles J Scheib

Jerome R Morgan

Jeffrey David Messerly

Galen C Robertson

Andrew M Zwolinski

Emily A Schellin

Jeffrey S Swayze

Geoffrey C Hueil

Mark S Ortiz

Douglas B Hoffman

Richard William Timm

Jason L Harris

Michael J Vendely

William Bruce Weisenburgh, Ii

Mark S Zeiner

Rao S Bezwada

Katherine J Schmid

Chester O Baxter, Iii

Taylor W Aronhalt

Bret William Smith

Thomas W Huitema

Kyle P Moore

Joshua R Uth

Kevin Ross Doll

Richard L Leimbach

Shailendra Kumar Parihar

Donna L Korvick

David C Yates

Christopher J Hess

Gregory W Johnson

John A Hibner

Andrew T Beckman

Michael S Cropper

Tamara S Widenhouse

Daniel J Mumaw

Benjamin D Dickerson

Gregory J Bakos

Kevin L Houser

Chad Paul Boudreaux

Jacob Spencer Gee

Barry C Worrell

Brett E Swensgard

Richard F Schwemberger

Robert L Koch, Jr

Gary W Knight

Randall J Tanguay

Patrick A Weizman

Dean B Bruewer

Gregory B Blair

Mark D Timmer

Trevor J Barton

Ashley D Easter

Victoria Dalessandro

Aidan Craigwood

Caroline Hagerman

Kathrin Holtzmann

Jackie J Donners

Mark H Ransick

William David Kelly

Ronald John Kolata

Prudence A Turner

Glen A Armstrong

Daniel L Baber

Michael A Murray

Michael D Auld

Gary S Jaworek

Julia Hwang

Prudence A Vulhop

Darrel M Powell

Andrew C Yoo

Kevin D Felder

Aron O Zingman

Jeffrey P Wiley

Spencer James Witte

Aren Calder Hill

Jeffery Kirk

Edward G Chekan

Daniel James Prenger

Venkataramanan Mandakolathur Vasudevan

Gregory Aaron Hyatt

Wells D Haberstich

John B Schulte

Ryan J Laurent

Joseph E Young

Travis Michael Schuh

Daniel J Abbott

Robert J Simms

Christopher J Schall

Cortney E Henderson

Richard C Smith

Chunlin Yang

Eric W Thompson

Michael D Cronin

Rebecca J Mollere

Wendy A Kerr

Douglas Jon Siebenaler

Salvatore G Caldarise

Patrick M Schleitweiler

Articulatable surgical instruments that include a firing system configured to selectively move a firing member between a starting position and an ending position. The firing system includes a flexible upper drive member that axially passes through a flexible upper hollow member to provide upper axial drive motions to the firing member. The firing system also includes a flexible lower drive member that axially passes through a lower hollow member to provide lower axial drive motions to the firing member.

Surgical instruments with flexible firing member actuator constraint arrangements

A surgical instrument includes a drive member movable by a drive motor between a home position and an end of stroke. A mechanical stop is disposed at or near the end of stroke and is structured to increase resistance to movement of the drive member from a first position to a second position. A control system detects a current spike associated with the increased resistance and interrupts power to the drive motor.

Surgical instrument soft stop

A buttress is applied to an end effector of a surgical stapler. The buttress is loaded on a platform of a buttress applier cartridge. The end effector is closed upon the platform. An adhesive layer of the buttress secures the buttress to the end effector. The buttress is thus adhered to the end effector when the end effector is opened. The end effector is then actuated on tissue of a patient, thereby stapling the buttress to the tissue.

Method of applying a buttress to a surgical stapler end effector

An integral seal system includes a body that defines a central opening, and an asymmetric seal extending into the central opening and including a diaphragm and an annular flange that extends between the body and the diaphragm, wherein the diaphragm has a cross-sectional thickness larger than a cross-sectional thickness of the annular flange. A duckbill seal extends distally from a bottom of the body and defines one or more parting lines that separate opposing seal flaps. The diaphragm complements insertion and extraction drag forces generated by the duckbill seal against a surgical tool shaft extended therethrough such that total insertion and extraction drag forces generated by the integral seal system are equalized.

Asymmetric shaft seal

In examples, a method of operating a surgical device comprises disengaging an obturator from a funnel portion of a cannula; removing a shaft portion of the obturator from a cannula lumen of the cannula; disengaging a seal cartridge from the funnel portion of the cannula; and removing the seal cartridge from the funnel portion after removing the shaft portion of the obturator from the cannula lumen.

Cannula assembly

In various embodiments, a tissue thickness compensator can comprise a compressible extracellular matrix and a bioabsorbable material dispersed within the extracellular matrix, wherein the bioapsorption of the bioabsorbable material is configured to leave behind channels in the extracellular matrix. The tissue thickness compensator can also comprise generation means for generating the ingrowth of tissue into the channels. In at least one embodiment, the tissue thickness compensator can comprise dissolvable wicking members which, when dissolved, can leave behind channels in the tissue thickness compensator. In certain embodiments, the tissue thickness compensator can comprise at least one rupturable capsule.

Tissue thickness compensator comprising layers

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 circular stapler apparatus for stapling tissue has a circular stapling head operable to drive staples toward an anvil to form the staples in a circular array. The anvil includes an anvil head, a proximal shaft extending proximally from the anvil head and having a proximal end disposed in a first plane, and a first pivot connecting the anvil head to the proximal shaft. The first pivot is operable to be disposed in a second plane that is laterally offset from the first plane. The anvil is configured to rotate via movement through multiple pivot points. The anvil may be configured to rotate to a position in which a portion of the anvil head is disposed below the first pivot and between the first pivot and the proximal shaft such that the anvil head is acutely angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the proximal shaft.

Pivoting anvil for surgical circular stapler

A trocar assembly that includes a trocar and a seal cartridge configured to be releasably coupled to the trocar. The seal cartridge includes a top cap that includes a main body and a latch ring. The latch ring is grounded to the main body at a first angular position and has a latch located at a second angular position angularly offset from the first angular position. Applying a radial load on the latch causes the latch ring to flex in torsion at an intermediate portion that angularly interposes the first and second angular positions.

Seal cartridge latch design for trocar assemblies

A trocar assembly can include a cannula, a seal cartridge, and an obturator. The seal cartridge is configured to be releasably coupled to the cannula and to be disposed at least partially within the cannula in a coupled configuration of the seal cartridge. The obturator is configured to directly latch to the cannula and to extends through the cannula and the seal cartridge in a coupled configuration of the obturator.

A method of operating an articulatable surgical instrument. The method includes providing a rotary drive motion to a rotary drive member of a surgical end effector and converting the rotary drive motion to an upper axial motion and a lower axial motion at locations that are distal to the articulation joint. The method further includes applying the upper axial motion to an upper portion of a firing member and applying the lower axial motion to a lower portion of the firing member such that the upper axial motion and lower axial motion drives the firing member distally through the surgical end effector from a starting position to an ending position.

Method of operating a surgical instrument

Surgical instruments that have articulation joints that include a proximal joint member that defines a proximal face that defines a proximal apex and a distal joint member that defines a distal apex. A linkage assembly retains the proximal apex in rolling inter-engagement with the distal apex. The linkage assembly includes a first link and a second link that are coupled to the proximal joint member for pivotal travel relative thereto about a first proximal pivot axis a second proximal pivot axis. The first link and second link are coupled to the distal joint member for pivotal travel relative thereto about a first distal pivot axis and a second distal pivot axis.

Surgical instruments with dual spherical articulation joint arrangements

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Steven G Hall