Surgical stapling instrument with articulated stapling head assembly on rotatable and flexible support shaft
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument for applying one or more surgical fasteners to tissue, comprising:
- a fastener applying assembly including a fastener holder for receiving one or more surgical fasteners, an anvil for clamping the tissue against said fastener holder, and a driver for driving the fasteners from said fastener holder into the tissue clamped by said anvil against said fastener holder;
an actuator handle assembly including a housing and means for actuating said driver; and
a shaft assembly for mounting said fastener applying assembly to said housing and said actuator handle assembly, said shaft assembly having a longitudinal axis and having proximal and distal ends and including a rigid support shaft section not enclosed by said housing, said rigid support shaft section connected to a flexible shaft section adapted to be bent in any radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved surgical instrument is provided for applying surgical fasteners, such as staples, to human tissue which is particularly suited for applying one or more rows of fasteners across a tissue lumen. The surgical instrument can be used in thoracic and abdominal surgical procedures where access to the surgical site is restricted. The surgical instrument includes an articulated fastener applying assembly mounted on a rotatable and flexible support shaft assembly to provide more convenient access to restricted surgical sites. The fastener applying assembly has a compact construction including a fixed jaw which supports a fastener cartridge and a movable jaw which supports an anvil for clamping the tissue therebetween. The fastener applying assembly includes a pin placement mechanism which is actuated by the movable jaw to control the movement of a tissue retaining pin on the fixed jaw. A dual cam mechanism is provided for driving the fasteners into the tissue clamped between the anvil and the fastener cartridge. The instrument has an actuator handle assembly with an improved actuator mechanism for closing the jaws and driving the fasteners into the tissue.
1743 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument for applying one or more surgical fasteners to tissue, comprising:
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a fastener applying assembly including a fastener holder for receiving one or more surgical fasteners, an anvil for clamping the tissue against said fastener holder, and a driver for driving the fasteners from said fastener holder into the tissue clamped by said anvil against said fastener holder; an actuator handle assembly including a housing and means for actuating said driver; and a shaft assembly for mounting said fastener applying assembly to said housing and said actuator handle assembly, said shaft assembly having a longitudinal axis and having proximal and distal ends and including a rigid support shaft section not enclosed by said housing, said rigid support shaft section connected to a flexible shaft section adapted to be bent in any radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A surgical stapling instrument for applying one or more surgical staples to tissue, comprising:
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a stapling head assembly including a staple holder for receiving one or more surgical staples, an anvil for clamping the tissue against said staple holder, and a staple driver for driving the staples from said staple holder into the tissue and against said anvil; an actuator handle assembly including a housing and first actuator means for moving said anvil into a tissue clamping position and second actuator means for actuating said staple driver; and a shaft assembly for mounting said stapling head assembly to said housing and said actuator handle assembly, said shaft assembly having a longitudinal axis and having proximal and distal ends and being rotatable over its longitudinal axis to orient said stapling head assembly in different angular orientations relative to said actuator handle assembly, and said shaft assembly including a rigid support shaft section not enclosed by said housing, said rigid support shaft section connected to a flexible shaft section adapted to be bent in any radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft assembly. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification