Surgical stapling instruments including a cartridge having multiple staples sizes
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for joining tubular tissue sections comprising:
- a cartridge assembly adapted for contacting tissue, the cartridge assembly defining a plurality of retention slots in first and second annular arrays, each retention slot configured to receive a surgical fastener therein, the cartridge assembly including a staple ejection assembly having a plurality of pushers, each pusher disposed within a respective retention slot, the first annular array being a first distance from a bottom of the staple ejection assembly and the second array being a second distance from the bottom of the staple ejection assembly, the first distance different from the second distance;
an anvil assembly having an anvil surface defining fastener forming recesses, the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly being relatively movable toward and away from each other; and
a plurality of surgical fasteners, each surgical fastener disposed in the respective retention slot, wherein at least some of the surgical fasteners have different leg lengths than other surgical fasteners.
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Abstract
A surgical stapling apparatus includes a staple cartridge and an anvil member. The staple cartridge includes a plurality of surgical fasteners disposed in rows of retention slots. The staple cartridge may have an annular or linear configuration of retention slots. The tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge may be tapered or stepped. The anvil member has a tissue contacting surface that includes a number of pockets arranged for substantially aligning with the retention slots. In addition, the tissue contacting surface of the anvil member may complement the tissue contacting surface of the staple cartridge.
148 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for joining tubular tissue sections comprising:
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a cartridge assembly adapted for contacting tissue, the cartridge assembly defining a plurality of retention slots in first and second annular arrays, each retention slot configured to receive a surgical fastener therein, the cartridge assembly including a staple ejection assembly having a plurality of pushers, each pusher disposed within a respective retention slot, the first annular array being a first distance from a bottom of the staple ejection assembly and the second array being a second distance from the bottom of the staple ejection assembly, the first distance different from the second distance; an anvil assembly having an anvil surface defining fastener forming recesses, the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly being relatively movable toward and away from each other; and a plurality of surgical fasteners, each surgical fastener disposed in the respective retention slot, wherein at least some of the surgical fasteners have different leg lengths than other surgical fasteners. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for joining tubular tissue sections comprising:
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a cartridge assembly adapted for contacting tissue, the cartridge assembly defining a plurality of retention slots in first and second annular arrays, each retention slot configured to receive a surgical fastener therein, the cartridge assembly including a staple ejection assembly having a plurality of pushers, each pusher disposed within a respective retention slot; an anvil assembly having an anvil surface defining fastener forming recesses, the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly being relatively movable toward and away from each other, a first gap defined between the first annular array and the anvil surface, a second gap defined between the second annular array and the anvil surface, the first gap different from the second gap; and a plurality of surgical fasteners, each surgical fastener disposed in the respective retention slot, wherein at least some of the surgical fasteners have different leg lengths than other surgical fasteners. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification