SURGICAL INSTRUMENT FOR GRASPING AND CUTTING TISSUE
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical instrument for cutting and grasping tissue comprising a handle assembly, an elongated member and first and second jaws. A first movable member moves the second jaw in a first direction about a first pivot axis in a grasping action and a second movable member moves the second jaw in a second direction different than the first direction and about a second pivot axis in a cutting action. A switch is positioned at the proximal portion of the instrument and a selecting member is actuated by movement of the switch, the selecting member movable between a first position to enable movement of the second jaw in the first direction and prohibit movement in the second direction and a second position to enable movement of the second jaw in the second direction and prohibit movement in the first direction.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1-24. -24. (canceled)
- 25. A handle assembly for a surgical instrument having first and second jaws, the handle assembly comprising a stationary handle, a first actuator, a second actuator and a switch, the first actuator having a first movable finger loop configured to receive a thumb of the user and operably associated with a first movable member to effect movement of at least one of instrument jaws in a grasping action, the second actuator having a second movable finger loop and operably associated with a second movable member to effect movement of at least one of the instrument jaws in a cutting action, the first and second actuators and the switch all operable by a single hand of a user, wherein the switch cannot be activated by the single hand of the user unless the user releases the thumb engagement of the first finger loop.
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28. A surgical method of grasping and cutting tissue with a single instrument comprising:
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providing an instrument having first and second jaws movable in a first orientation to perform a grasping function and movable in a second orientation to perform a cutting function; moving a first actuator of the instrument to move the jaws in the first orientation between closed and open positions to grasp tissue; moving a second actuator of the instrument to move the jaws in a second orientation between closed and open positions to cut tissue; and moving a switching mechanism between first and second positions to select the grasping or cutting function, wherein the switching mechanism can only be moved when the jaws are in the closed position. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification