Tissue fixing surgical instrument, tissue-fixing device, and method of fixing tissues

• US 5,658,300 A
• Filed: 02/03/1995
• Issued: 08/19/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Shuichi, Tsukagoshi, Tsuyoshi, Hirao, Isami, Tsuruta, Minoru, Suzuta, Toshihiko, Nakada, Akio, Kuramoto, Seiji, Bito, Shiro, Mukaizawa, Akito, Oozeki, Kazuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Thaler, Michael H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MULCARE, NANCY C
• Application Number:
  US08/384,210
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 606/139, 606/142-143, 606/151, 606/157-158, 227/175
• US Class Current: 606/143
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/064 Surgical staples, i.e. penetrating the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0684 having a forming anvil staying above the tissue during stapling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/08 Wound clamps or clips, i.e. not or only partly penetrating the tissue suture bridges A61B17/0466; Devices for bringing together the edges of a wound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/10 for applying or removing wound clamps, e.g. containing only one clamp or staple A61B17/076 takes precedence; containing multiple wound clamps A61B17/068; Wound clamp magazines containers, packaging elements or packages specially adapted for particular articles or with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00, B65D85/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12 for ligaturing or otherwise compressing tubular parts of the body, e.g. blood vessels, umbilical cord specially adapted for vas deferens or fallopian tubes A61F6/20; materials for ligaturing blood vessels A61L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/122 Clamps or clips , e.g. for the umbilical cord for the vas deferens A61F6/206
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1285 for minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0641 having at least three legs as part of one single body

Abstract

A surgical instrument for fastening together opposing portions of a body organ. The instrument comprises a first support for supporting the first opposing portion of the body organ, a second support opposing the first support, for supporting the second opposing portion of the body organ, and a displacement-preventing member connected to the first or second support for preventing the supports from displacing relative to each other. The member comprises a pin protruding from one of the supports and a hole formed in the other of the supports. The pin is made of thermoplastic resin. When heated, the pins is softened and deformed, whereby the first and second supports are secured to each other, fastening together the opposing portions of the body organ.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument for fastening together first and second opposing portions of body tissue, the surgical instrument comprising a clip and an applicator,

(a) said clip including:

first support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means, for supporting the first opposing portion of the body tissue;

second support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means, opposing said first support means, for supporting the second opposing portion of the body tissue;

coupling means, provided at the first ends of said first and second support means, for coupling said first and second support means together such that both of said first and second support means are movable relative to each other; and

a displacement-preventing means, provided at the second end of each of said first and second support means, for preventing said first and second support means from being displaced relative to each other said displacement-preventing means each being made of a thermoplastic resin which softens so as to be deformable and fusible with another of said displacement-preventing means when said displacement-preventing means is heated; and

(b) said applicator including;

holding means for holding at least one of said first and second support means;

heating means for heating and thereby softening said displacement-preventing means; and

operating means for causing softened displacement-preventing means of each of said first and second support means to contact each other, to thereby fix said first and second support means at respective relative positions so as to fasten together the first and second opposing portions of the body tissue between said first and second support means.

2. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said displacement-preventing means comprises at least one pin protruding from at least one of said first and second support means.

3. The surgical instrument according to claim 2, wherein said at least one pin is softened, deformed and fused to the other of said support means by means of said applicator.

4. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said coupling means comprises a hinge.

5. The surgical instrument according to claim 3, wherein said first support means, said second support means, said at least one pin, and said hinge are made of said thermoplastic resin in the form of a single piece.

6. The surgical instrument according to claim 5, wherein said thermoplastic resin is absorbable into body tissues.

7. The surgical instrument according to claim 5, wherein said thermoplastic resin is compatible with body tissues.

8. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said heating means comprises an electric heater.

9. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said heating means comprises a laser.

10. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said heating means comprises for applying ultrasonic oscillation to said displacement-preventing means.

11. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, further comprising temperature control means for maintaining said displacement-preventing means at a temperature higher than a glass-transition point of said displacement-preventing means.

12. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, further comprising detecting means for detecting whether said displacement-preventing means has been deformed.

13. A surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said heating means heats and softens said displacement-preventing means after said operating means causes said displacement-preventing means to contact with each other.

14. A surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said displacement-preventing means has projections thereon which contact the other of said displacement-preventing means.

15. A surgical instrument according to claim 14, wherein each of said displacement-preventing means has projections thereon which are arranged such that the projections of one of said displacement-preventing means contacts projections of the other of said displacement-preventing means in substantially point contact when the operating means causes said displacement-preventing means to contact with each other.

16. A surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said heating means comprises an ultrasonic heating means.

17. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said displacement-preventing means which is heatable and fusible, is substantially smaller than each of said first and second support means.

18. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein said displacement-preventing means which is heatable and fusible, is substantially smaller than each of said first and second support means.

19. The surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said first and second support means comprise elongated members, one of which is thinner than the other.

20. A surgical clip and applicator therefore for fastening together first and second opposing portions of body tissue, said surgical clip comprising:

first support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means, for supporting the first opposing portion of the body tissue;

second support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means opposing said first support means, for supporting the second opposing portion of the body tissue;

coupling means, provided at the first ends of said first and second support means, for coupling said first and second support means together such that both of said first and second support means are movable relative to each other; and

displacement-preventing means, provided at the second end of each of said first and second support means, and arranged on said at least one of said first and second support means, for preventing said first and second support means from being displaced relative to each other, said displacement-preventing means each being made of a thermoplastic resin which softens so as to be deformable and fusible with another of said displacement-preventing means when said displacement-preventing means is heated, displacement-prevention of said displacement-preventing means being started when said softened displacement-preventing means are contacted with each other wherein said applicator includes a heating means for heating said displacement preventing means.

21. The surgical device according to claim 20, wherein said displacement-preventing means comprises at least one pin protruding from at least one of said support means.

22. The surgical device according to claim 21, wherein said at least one pin is softened and fused to the other of said support means when heated.

23. The surgical device according to claim 21, wherein said coupling means comprises a hinge.

24. The surgical device according to claim 21, wherein said first support means, said second support means, said at least one pin, and said hinge are made of said thermoplastic resin in the form of a single piece.

25. The surgical device according to claim 24, wherein said thermoplastic resin is absorbable into body tissues.

26. The surgical device according to claim 24, wherein said thermoplastic resin is compatible with body tissues.

27. A surgical clip according to claim 20, wherein a heating means is provided for heating and softening said displacement-preventing means after said displacement-preventing means contact with each other.

30. The surgical device according to claim 20, wherein said thermoplastic resin of said displacement-preventing means is softenable when ultrasonic oscillation is applied thereto.

32. A surgical clip according to claim 20, wherein at least one of said displacement-preventing means has projections thereon which contact the other of said displacement-preventing means.

33. A surgical clip according to claim 32, wherein each of said displacement-preventing means has projections thereon which are arranged such that the projections of one of said displacement-preventing means contacts projections of the other of said displacement-preventing means in substantially point contact when said displacement-preventing means are in contact with each other.

34. A surgical instrument according to claim 27, wherein said heating means comprises an ultrasonic heating means.

40. The surgical instrument according to claim 20, wherein said first and second support means comprise elongated members, one of which is thinner than the other.

28. A method of applying a clip to connect together opposing portions of body tissue by means of an applicator, comprising the steps of:

preparing a clip comprising;

first support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means, for supporting a first opposing portion of the body tissue;

second support means, having first and second ends and body tissue support means and opposing said first support means, for supporting a second opposing portion of the body tissue;

coupling means coupling said first ends of said first and second support means together such that both of said first and second support means are movable relative to each other; and

displacement-preventing means at said second end of each of said first and second support means for preventing said first and second support means from being displaced relative to each other, said displacement-preventing means each being made of thermoplastic resin which softens so as to be deformable and fusible with another of said displacement-preventing means when said displacement-preventing means is heated;

loading the clip in said applicator;

placing the opposing body tissue portions between the first and second support means of said clip while said clip is in said applicator;

heating and softening said displacement-preventing means; and

closing said first and second support means of said clip by bringing said first and second support means toward each other, to thereby fix said first and second support means relative to each other, by said displacement-preventing means being in a softened state, and to clamp the opposing body tissue portions between said first and second support means of said clip when said displacement-prevention means cools and hardens after being in contact with each other in said softened state.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein said thermoplastic resin is absorbable into body tissues.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein said thermoplastic resin is compatible with body tissues.

35. A method according to claim 29, comprising heating and softening said displacement-preventing means with an ultrasonic heating means.

36. The method according to claim 28, further comprises heating and softening said displacement-preventing means and fusing said displacement-preventing means to a portion of the other of said first and second support means.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein said displacement-preventing means comprises at least one pin protruding from at least one of said first and second support means, and wherein said at least one pin is fusible to said portion of the other of said first and second support means.

38. The method according to claim 28, wherein said step of heating and softening comprises applying ultrasonic oscillation to said displacement-preventing means.

39. The method according to claim 28, wherein said heated portion of said displacement-preventing means is substantially smaller than each of said first and second support means.

41. A method according to claim 28, wherein said heating step heats and softens said displacement-preventing means after said first and second support means are closed and said displacement preventing means are made to contact with each other.

42. A method according to claim 28, comprising providing at least one of said displacement-preventing means with projections thereon which contact with the other of said displacement-preventing means.

43. A method according to claim 42, comprising providing each of said displacement-preventing means with projections thereon which are arranged such that the projections of one of said displacement-preventing means contacts projections of the other of said displacement-preventing means in substantially point contact when said displacement-preventing means are made to contact with each other.