Electrosurgical instrument with minimally invasive jaws

• US 6,623,482 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Datascope Corporation (Getinge AB)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Cohn, Simon, Pendekanti, Rajesh
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMPBELL, THOR S
• Application Number:
  US09/966,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20020099374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 606/51, 606/61, 606/32, 606/50, 606/48, 606/46, 606/205-210
• US Class Current: 606/51
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1445 at the distal end of a shaft, e.g. forceps or scissors at the end of a rigid rod
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1412 Blade
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1455 having a moving blade for cutting tissue grasped by the jaws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/70 Cleaning devices specially adapted for surgical instruments

Abstract

A surgical instrument useful in harvesting blood vessels such as veins and arteries and for manipulating and grasping tissue. The instrument has a pair of jaws and a closing tube to open and close the jaws. One of the jaws is preferably movable between the open and closed positions and has an insert for providing lateral strength and stiffness while providing the flexibility necessary to open and close the jaws.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument comprising:

a) a handle having a proximal end and a distal end;

b) a shaft having a longitudinal axis, a distal end, and a proximal end mounted to the distal end of the handle;

c) a closing tube sildably mounted coaxially to the shaft, and having a distal end and a proximal end;

d) a first jaw extending from the distal end of the closing tube and having a distal end, a proximal end, a hinge between the distal and proximal ends of the first jaw, and an insert spanning the hinge for strengthening the hinge while permitting rotation of the distal end of the first jaw about the hinge;

e) a second opposed jaw mounted to the distal end of the shaft and retaining the first jaw inside of the distal end of the closing tube; and

g) an actuator mounted to the handle for moving the closing tube between an open position in which the closing tube causes the distal end of the first jaw to move away from the second jaw, and a closed position in which the closing tube causes the distal end of the first jaw to move towards the second jaw.

2. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first jaw comprises a flexible material.

3. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the hinge comprises a living hinge.

4. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first and second jaws comprise an electrically non-conductive material.

5. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first jaw has an unconstrained configuration in the open position.

6. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first jaw has an unconstrained configuration in the closed position.

7. The surgical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of teeth extending from at least one of the first and second jaws for engaging tissue within the tissue grasping region.

8. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the handle is hollow and has a cavity therein.

9. The instrument of claim 8, wherein the actuator is slidably mounted to the handle and has a lower member which extends into the cavity, and wherein the proximal end of the closing tube is mounted to the lower member.

10. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the insert has a distal portion, a middle portion, and a proximal portion, the distal and proximal portions being fixed to the first jaw.

11. The instrument of claim 10, wherein the distal and proximal portions each further have sides depending therefrom and into the first jaw for fixing the distal and proximal portions to the first jaw.

12. The instrument of claim 11, wherein at least one of the sides have holes for facilitating the fixation of their respective distal and/or proximal portion to the first jaw.

13. The instrument of claim 10, wherein the insert extends along the first jaw and the distal and proximal ends of the first jaw correspond to the distal and proximal portions of the insert.

14. The instrument of claim 1, wherein:

the insert includes a middle portion, which is substantially planar, extending to distal and proximate portions having respective necked down regions with reduced widths relative to a width of the middle portion to facilitate bending of the middle portion relative to the distal and proximate portions.

15. The instrument of claim 1, wherein:

wherein the closing tube slidably fits over the first and second jaws.

16. A method of grasping tissue comprising the steps of:

I. providing a surgical instrument, the surgical instrument comprising;

a handle having a proximal end, a distal end, a top and a bottom;

a shaft having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis, said proximal end of the shaft mounted to the distal end of the handle;

a closing tube having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis, said closing tube slidably mounted coaxially to said shaft;

a first jaw extending from said distal end of the closing tube, the first jaw having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis, the first jaw having a hinge between the distal and proximal ends of the first jaw, wherein said distal end is rotatable about the hinge toward and away from the longitudinal axis of the first jaw, the first jaw further having an insert spanning the hinge, the insert further permitting rotation of the distal end toward and away from the longitudinal axis of the first jaw;

a second opposed jaw extending from the distal end of the closing tube, the second jaw mounted to the distal end of the shaft and retaining the first jaw inside of distal end of the closing tube, the second jaw having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis, wherein the said closing tube slidably fits over the first and second jaws so that a tissue grasping region of the first and second jaws is distal to the distal end of said closing tube, wherein the closing tube movable relative to the first and second jaws between an open and a closed position;

a cam located on the second jaw and operationally engaged with a follower member on the first jaw, such that when said closing tube moves from the closed position to the open position the closing tube operationally engages the first jaw and moves the first jaw relative to the lower jaw in the proximal direction so that the follower member of the first jaw rides up on the cam on the lower jaw and causes the hinge and insert to flex and the distal end of the first jaw to move away from the second jaw, and when the closing tube moves from the open position to the closed position the closing tube operationally engages the first jaw and moves the first jaw relative to the second jaw in the distal direction so that the follower member rides down on the cam on the second jaw and causes the hinge and insert to flex and the distal end of the first jaw to move towards the second jaw; and

an actuator mounted to the handle for moving the closing tube, wherein the proximal end of the closing tube is mounted to the actuator;

II. moving the tube to the open position and positioning tissue between the jaws; and

,

III. moving the tube to the closed position and engaging the tissue in the tissue grasping region.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the moving of the tube to the open and closed positions, respectively, comprises flexing the hinge and insert about away and towards, respectively, the second jaw.

18. A jaw apparatus for a surgical instrument, the surgical instrument having a handle, a shaft mounted to the handle, a jaw mounted to the shaft, and a closing tube slidably mounted coaxially to the shaft, said apparatus comprising:

a first jaw having a distal end, a proximal end, a hinge between the distal end and proximal ends of the first jaw, and an insert spanning the hinge for strengthening the hinge while permitting rotation of the distal end of the first jaw about the hinge;

wherein, when installed in the surgical instrument, the first jaw extends from a distal end of the closing tube, and is movable away from the jaw mounted to the shaft when the closing tube is moved to an open position, and toward the jaw mounted to the shaft when the closing tube is moved to a closed position.

19. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a handle having a distal end;

an actuator mounted to the handle;

a closing tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end of the closing tube operatively mounted to the actuator, the actuator being configured to move the closing tube between at least an open position and a closed position, the closed position being distal to the open position relative to the handle;

a first jaw extending from the distal end of the closing tube, the first jaw having a distal end and a proximal end, the first jaw having a hinge between the distal and proximal ends of the first jaw, wherein the distal end of the first jaw is rotatable about the hinge;

an insert spanning the hinge for strengthening the hinge while permitting rotation of the distal end of the first jaw about the hinge; and

a second jaw extending from a distal end of the closing tube;

wherein the closing tube is configured to move the distal end of the first jaw toward the second jaw when the closing tube moves from the open position to the closed position.