SURGICAL STAPLERS WITH TISSUE PROTECTION AND RELATED METHODS
First Claim
1. A surgical stapler, comprising:
- a stapler head having opposed first and second elongate jaws with opposing proximal and distal end portions;
a staple cartridge held in at least one of the first and second jaws, the stapler cartridge configured to concurrently deliver a plurality of parallel rows of staples from a length of the cartridge;
a tissue protection segment held in a proximal portion of at least one of the first and second jaws,wherein, the jaws are configured to close against target tissue and, at stapler firing, staples are delivered to a subset of tissue held inside the jaws so that tissue held by the tissue protection segment adjacent the proximal end portion of the stapler is not stapled.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Surgical staplers include: (a) a stapler head having opposed first and second elongate jaws with opposing proximal and distal end portions; (b) a staple cartridge held in at least one of the first and second jaws, the stapler cartridge configured to concurrently deliver a plurality of parallel rows of staples; and (c) a tissue protection segment held in a proximal portion of at least one of the first and second jaws. The jaws are configured to close against target tissue and, at stapler firing, staples are delivered to a subset of tissue held inside the jaws so that tissue held by the tissue protection segment adjacent the proximal end portion of the stapler is not stapled.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A surgical stapler, comprising:
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a stapler head having opposed first and second elongate jaws with opposing proximal and distal end portions; a staple cartridge held in at least one of the first and second jaws, the stapler cartridge configured to concurrently deliver a plurality of parallel rows of staples from a length of the cartridge; a tissue protection segment held in a proximal portion of at least one of the first and second jaws, wherein, the jaws are configured to close against target tissue and, at stapler firing, staples are delivered to a subset of tissue held inside the jaws so that tissue held by the tissue protection segment adjacent the proximal end portion of the stapler is not stapled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A gastrointestinal treatment, comprising:
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providing a stapler with a staple head having first and second opposed jaws, with at least one of the jaws having a tissue protection segment proximate a staple cartridge; inserting the stapler into a patient in an inferior to superior direction so that one jaw resides over one outer wall of the stomach and the other jaw resides under an opposing outer wall of the stomach; closing the jaws against the stomach whereby an inferior portion of the stomach is held in the tissue protection portion of the stapler head and a more superior portion of the stomach is held against the stapler cartridge, wherein tissue held against the tissue protection segment is protected from undue injury;
thenapplying a plurality of parallel rows of staples to only the more superior portion of the stomach and not to tissue held in the tissue protection segment of the stapler jaws; and cutting between two adjacent rows of stapled tissue to divide the stomach tissue. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of applying staples to a limited region of tissue, comprising:
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inserting a surgical stapler into a patient, the surgical stapler having first and second cooperating opposed jaws; closing the jaws about a target region of tissue;
thenapplying a plurality of rows of staples to a first sub-portion of tissue held between the jaws while protecting a second sub-portion of tissue from compressive injury; and cutting between two adjacent parallel rows of applied staples to form an opening with a stapled perimeter of divided tissue that is spaced apart from but proximate to the second sub-portion of tissue. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A computer program product for bimodal operation of a surgical stapler, the computer program product comprising:
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a computer readable non-transitory storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer-readable program code comprising; computer readable program code that allows a user to select whether to operate in a full staple mode or in a tissue protection mode; and computer readable program code that communicates with a loaded cartridge and/or a staple drive mechanism to selectively deliver a full length of staples in the full staple mode or a subset of a length of staples in the tissue protection mode.
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Specification