Surgical Stapling Instruments including a Cartridge Having Multiple Staples Sizes
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- a cartridge having first and second rows of retention slots and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length;
an anvil member having first and second surfaces;
a first gap defined between the first surface and the cartridge; and
a second gap defined between the second surface and the cartridge, wherein the first gap is different from the second gap.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical stapling apparatus includes a staple cartridge and an anvil member. The staple cartridge includes a plurality of surgical fasteners disposed in rows of retention slots. The staple cartridge may have an annular or linear configuration of retention slots. The tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge may be tapered or stepped. The anvil member has a tissue contacting surface that includes a number of pockets arranged for substantially aligning with the retention slots. In addition, the tissue contacting surface of the anvil member may complement the tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having first and second rows of retention slots and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length; an anvil member having first and second surfaces; a first gap defined between the first surface and the cartridge; and a second gap defined between the second surface and the cartridge, wherein the first gap is different from the second gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having an outer wall, a central longitudinal axis, first and second rows of retention slots, and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, the cartridge defining a first surface, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length; an anvil member having a second surface, the second surface having a configuration selected from the group consisting of curved and angled; and a gap defined between the first surface of the cartridge and the second surface of the anvil, wherein the gap varies between the central longitudinal axis of the cartridge and the outer wall of the cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19-26. -26. (canceled)
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27. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having first and second rows of retention slots and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length, the cartridge having a first surface and a second surface, at least one of the first surface and the second surface being selected from the group consisting of a planar surface and a curved surface; an anvil member; a first gap defined between the first surface and the anvil member; and a second gap defined between the second surface and the anvil member, wherein the first gap is different from the second gap. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having an outer wall, a central longitudinal axis, first and second rows of retention slots, and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, the cartridge defining a first surface, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length, the first surface having a configuration selected from the group consisting of curved and angled; an anvil member having a second surface; and a gap defined between the first surface of the cartridge and the second surface of the anvil, wherein the gap varies between the central longitudinal axis of the cartridge and the outer wall of the cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having first and second rows of retention slots and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length; an anvil member having first and second surfaces, the first surface being generally arcuate and the second surface being generally arcuate; a first gap defined between the first surface and the cartridge; and a second gap defined between the second surface and the cartridge, wherein the first gap is different from the second gap. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge having first and second rows of retention slots and fasteners disposed in the first and second rows of retention slots, each fastener having a pair of legs, wherein at least one fastener in the first row of retention slots has a first leg length and at least one fastener in the second row of retention slots has a second leg length that is different from the first leg length, the cartridge having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface being generally arcuate and the second surface being generally arcuate; an anvil member; a first gap defined between the first surface and the anvil member; and a second gap defined between the second surface and the anvil member, wherein the first gap is different from the second gap. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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Specification