Electrosurgical Tissue Sealer and Cutter
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
- an end effector including a pair of jaw members having opposing tissue clamping surfaces, at least one of the jaw members configured to move with respect to the other jaw member to move the end effector between an open configuration for receiving tissue and a closed configuration for clamping tissue between the opposing tissue clamping surfaces, the at least one jaw member including an elongate cam slot extending longitudinally along the at least one jaw member over a substantial a length of the tissue clamping surfaces;
a plurality of electrically isolated electrodes supported by at least one of the tissue clamping surfaces of one of the jaw members, each of the plurality of electrodes longitudinally spaced along the at least one tissue clamping surface and configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue; and
a reciprocating member extendable through the elongate cam slot to a longitudinal sealing position with respect to each of the electrodes, wherein when the reciprocating member is in the sealing position with respect to a particular electrode, the reciprocating member defines a predetermined gap distance between the particular electrode and the opposing tissue clamping surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical instrument comprises an end effector including a pair of jaw members configured to move with respect to one another between an open configuration and a closed configuration for clamping tissue. At least one jaw member includes an elongate cam slot extending in a longitudinal direction over a substantial a length a tissue clamping surface of the at least one jaw member. A plurality of electrically isolated, and longitudinally spaced electrodes is supported by the tissue clamping surface and is configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue. A reciprocating member engages the elongate cam slot and is extendable to a sealing position with respect to each of the electrodes to define a predetermined gap distance between a particular electrode and an opposing tissue clamping surface.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
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an end effector including a pair of jaw members having opposing tissue clamping surfaces, at least one of the jaw members configured to move with respect to the other jaw member to move the end effector between an open configuration for receiving tissue and a closed configuration for clamping tissue between the opposing tissue clamping surfaces, the at least one jaw member including an elongate cam slot extending longitudinally along the at least one jaw member over a substantial a length of the tissue clamping surfaces; a plurality of electrically isolated electrodes supported by at least one of the tissue clamping surfaces of one of the jaw members, each of the plurality of electrodes longitudinally spaced along the at least one tissue clamping surface and configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue; and a reciprocating member extendable through the elongate cam slot to a longitudinal sealing position with respect to each of the electrodes, wherein when the reciprocating member is in the sealing position with respect to a particular electrode, the reciprocating member defines a predetermined gap distance between the particular electrode and the opposing tissue clamping surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A surgical instrument comprising:
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an end effector including a pair of jaw members having opposing tissue clamping surfaces, at least one of the jaw members configured to move with respect to the other jaw member to move the end effector between an open configuration for receiving tissue and a closed configuration for clamping tissue between the opposing tissue clamping surfaces; a plurality of electrically isolated electrodes supported by at least one of the tissue clamping surfaces of one of the jaw members, each of the plurality of electrodes longitudinally spaced along the at least one clamping surface and configured to deliver electrosurgical energy the tissue; a reciprocating member including a blade, the reciprocating member extendable to a longitudinal sealing position with respect to each of the electrodes, wherein when the reciprocating member is in the sealing position with respect to a particular electrode the forward blade is disposed immediately proximally of the particular electrode; and an interruption mechanism configured to interrupt advancement of the reciprocating member at each of the sealing positions.
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17. A method for electrosurgically treating tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing an instrument including a plurality of electrically isolated electrodes being spaced longitudinally along at least one of a pair of tissue clamping surfaces of a pair of jaw members, the instrument also including a reciprocating member longitudinally movable to a scaling position with respect to each of the plurality of electrodes; positioning tissue between the opposing clamping surfaces such that at least a first proximal electrode and a second distal electrode of the plurality of electrodes contacts the tissue; advancing the reciprocating member to the sealing position with respect to the first proximal electrode to clamp the tissue between the first proximal electrode and the opposing tissue clamping surface at the predetermined gap distance; interrupting advancement of the reciprocating member to maintain the reciprocating member at the sealing position with respect to the first proximal electrode while providing electrosurgical energy to the first proximal electrode and maintaining the second distal electrode in an electrically inactive state; further advancing the reciprocating member to the sealing position with respect to the second distal electrode to clamp the tissue between the second distal electrode and the opposing tissue clamping surface at the predetermined gap distance; and interrupting advancement of the reciprocating member to maintain the reciprocating member at the sealing position with respect to the second distal electrode while providing electrosurgical energy to the second distal electrode and maintaining the first proximal electrode in an electrically inactive state.
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Specification