Surgical stapling instrument with dual staple height mechanism
First Claim
1. A surgical stapling instrument, comprising:
- first and second cooperating jaw members, one of said jaw members including staple carrying means adapted to receive a plurality of staples arranged in at least one row, and said other jaw member including anvil means adapted to form said staples,first means for driving the staples partially from said staple carrying means into tissue gripped between said jaw members to force the staples into the tissue to produce at least one row of unformed staples therein and for cutting the tissue along a line adjacent to said row of unformed staples, andsecond means for completely ejecting the staples from said staple carrying means and forming the staples against said anvil means to produce at least one row of closed staples adjacent to the line cut in the tissue.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical stapling instrument suitable for performing a gastrointestinal anastomosis is provided. The stapling instrument incorporates an improved staple actuator mechanism operable by separate control buttons to accomplish its stapling and cutting actions in two stages. The two stage operation of the stapling instrument reduces the maximum force required to operate the instrument. The improved actuator mechanism permits selection of different staple heights to be produced by the same instrument. In addition, the actuator mechanism is designed to stabilize the upper and lower jaw members by providing longitudinal and lateral support along substantially the entire length of the operative portions of the jaw members. Preferably, the actuator mechanism comprises an elongated, I-beam structure slidably mounted for longitudinal movement relative to the jaw members. The I-beam assembly includes upper and lower flanges which provide both longitudinal and lateral support along substantially the entire length of the anvil and staple cartridge carrying portions of the jaw members. A sleeve slidably mounted on one of the I-beam flanges allows the spacing of the jaw members to be adjusted to produce one of two predetermined closed staple heights.
-
Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A surgical stapling instrument, comprising:
-
first and second cooperating jaw members, one of said jaw members including staple carrying means adapted to receive a plurality of staples arranged in at least one row, and said other jaw member including anvil means adapted to form said staples, first means for driving the staples partially from said staple carrying means into tissue gripped between said jaw members to force the staples into the tissue to produce at least one row of unformed staples therein and for cutting the tissue along a line adjacent to said row of unformed staples, and second means for completely ejecting the staples from said staple carrying means and forming the staples against said anvil means to produce at least one row of closed staples adjacent to the line cut in the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. A surgical stapling instrument, comprising:
-
first and second cooperating elongate jaw members, one of said jaw members including staple carrying means adapted to receive at least two laterally spaced longitudinal rows of staples, and said other jaw member including anvil means adapted to form said staples, first means for driving the staples partially from said staple carrying means into tissue gripped between said jaw members to force the staples into the tissue without forming the staples against said anvil means and for cutting the tissue along a line between said rows of unformed staples, second means for completely ejecting the staples from said staple carrying means and forming the staples against said anvil means to produce a pair of laterally spaced rows of closed staples in the tissue on opposite sides of the line cut between said staple rows. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A surgical stapling instrument comprising:
-
first and second cooperating elongate jaw members, one of said jaw members including a staple cartridge adapted to receive at least two laterally spaced longitudinal rows of staples, and said other jaw member including an anvil adapted to form said staples, an elongate actuator assembly mounted on one of said jaw members and slidable longitudinally relative to said jaw members, said actuator assembly including cam means for sequentially driving the staples partially from said staple cartridge to force the staples in said longitudinal rows into tissue gripped between said jaw members without forming the staples against said anvil, and knife means for cutting the tissue along a line between said longitudinal staple rows after the unformed staples are forced into the tissue, and an elongate staple driver mounted on one of said frames and slidable longitudinally relative to said jaw members for completely ejecting the staples from said staple cartridge and forming the staples against said anvil to provide laterally spaced longitudinal rows of closed staples along opposite sides of the line cut in the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A surgical stapling instrument, comprising:
-
first and second cooperating elongate jaw members, one of said jaw members including staple carrying means adapted to receive a plurality of staples arranged in at least one row, and said other jaw member including anvil means adapted to form said staples, means for driving the staples from said staple carrying means into tissue gripped between said jaw members and forming the staples against said anvil means to produce at least one row of closed staples in the tissue, knife means for cutting the tissue gripped between said jaw members along a line adjacent to said staple row, and support means including elongated support members movable into engagement with each of said jaw members and adapted to provide longitudinal and lateral support to said jaw members along substantially the entire length of said staple carrying means and said anvil means while the staples are formed. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A surgical stapling instrument comprising:
-
first and second cooperating elongate jaw members, one of said jaw members including a staple cartridge adapted to receive at least two laterally spaced longitudinal rows of staples, and said other jaw member including an anvil adapted to form said staples, means for sequentially driving the staples from said staple cartridge into tissue gripped between said jaw members and forming the staples against said anvil means to produce a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal rows of closed staples in the tissue, knife means for cutting the tissue gripped between said jaw members along a line between said longitudinal staple rows, and support means including elongated support members movable into engagement with each of said elongate jaw members and adapted to provide support along substantially the entire length of said staple cartridge and said anvil during the forming of the staples. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
-
-
35. A method of performing a surgical anastomosis, comprising:
-
driving a plurality of staples into the tissue to be anastomosed before the tissue is cut to produce at least one row of unformed staples in the tissue, cutting the tissue along a line adjacent to said row of unformed staples, and forming the staples after the tissue is cut to provide at least one row of closed staples adjacent to the line cut in the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (36)
-
-
37. A method of performing an anastomosis using a surgical stapling instrument including first and second cooperating jaw members, one of said jaw members including a staple cartridge adapted to receive a plurality of staples arranged in at least one row, and said other jaw member including an anvil adapted to form said staples, said method comprising:
-
clamping the tissue to be anastomosed between the staple cartridge and the anvil on the jaw members, partially ejecting the staples from said staple cartridge into the tissue gripped between the jaw members to force the staples into the tissue before the tissue is cut without forming the staples to produce at least one row of unformed staples in the tissue, cutting the tissue gripped between the jaw members along a line adjacent to said row of unformed staples, and completely ejecting the staples from the staple cartridge and forming the staples against the anvil after the tissue is cut to provide at least one row of closed staples adjacent to the line cut in the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (38)
-
Specification