Surgical instrument
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- a manually engageable handle;
a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from said handle;
tissue engaging means for engaging tissue, said tissue engaging means including at least a first tissue engaging member;
a second stem section connected between said first stem section and said tissue engaging means, said second stem section having at least a portion which is bendable, said second stem section supporting said tissue engaging means for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
means for supporting said first tissue engaging member on said bendable portion of said second stem section; and
means for bending said bendable portion of said second stem section to change the orientation of said tissue engaging means relative to said axis and to said first stem section from a first orientation to a second orientation;
said bendable portion of said second stem section comprising means for enabling bending movement of said bendable portion to locate said tissue engaging means at the same angle relative to said longitudinal axis of said first stem section at more than one location along the length of said bendable portion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical instrument includes a handle, a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from the handle, and a tissue engaging member for engaging tissue. A second stem section, connected between the first stem section and the tissue engaging member, has a portion which is bendable and supports the tissue engaging member for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to the axis and to the first stem section. The surgical instrument includes a system for bending the bendable portion of the second stem section to change the orientation of the tissue engaging member relative to the axis and to the first stem section from a first orientation to a second orientation. The bendable portion of the second stem section includes a member for enabling bending movement of the bendable portion to locate the tissue engaging member at the same angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the first stem section at more than one location along the length of the bendable portion.
385 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a manually engageable handle;
a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from said handle;
tissue engaging means for engaging tissue, said tissue engaging means including at least a first tissue engaging member;
a second stem section connected between said first stem section and said tissue engaging means, said second stem section having at least a portion which is bendable, said second stem section supporting said tissue engaging means for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
means for supporting said first tissue engaging member on said bendable portion of said second stem section; and
means for bending said bendable portion of said second stem section to change the orientation of said tissue engaging means relative to said axis and to said first stem section from a first orientation to a second orientation;
said bendable portion of said second stem section comprising means for enabling bending movement of said bendable portion to locate said tissue engaging means at the same angle relative to said longitudinal axis of said first stem section at more than one location along the length of said bendable portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
a tubular plastic body portion having an outer side surface and an axially extending central passage; and
a resilient metal tube overlying said outer side surface of said plastic body portion, said resilient metal tube being configured as a helical coil spring.
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31. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 30 wherein said resilient metal tube is made from a superelastic nickel-titanium alloy.
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32. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 30 wherein said helical coil spring is made from an elongate metal member having a rectangular cross sectional configuration.
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33. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 30 wherein said resilient metal tube comprises means for providing a first degree of bending resistance of said resilient metal tube at a first location along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section and for providing a second degree of bending resistance of said resilient metal tube at a second location along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section, said second degree of bending resistance being greater than said first degree of bending resistance.
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34. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bendable portion of said second stem section comprises a tubular plastic body portion having an outer side surface and a resilient metal tube overlying said outer side surface of said plastic body portion, said means for enabling bending movement comprising a series of slots which are formed in said resilient metal tube and which divide said resilient metal tube member into a series of link portions which are spaced along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section.
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35. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 34 wherein said series of slots comprises at least a first set of slots having a first configuration for providing a first degree of bending resistance of said resilient metal tube at the location of said first set of slots and a second set of slots having a second configuration different from said first configuration for providing a second degree of bending resistance of said resilient metal tube at the location of said second set of slots, said second degree of bending resistance being greater than said first degree of bending resistance.
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36. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 35 wherein each one of said first set of slots has a first predetermined extent along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section and each one of said second set of slots has a second predetermined extent along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section which is less than said first predetermined extent.
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37. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 34 wherein said link portions have predetermined different lengths along the length of said bendable portion of said second stem section to vary the bending resistance of said resilient metal tube.
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38. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a pull wire extending in a passage through said first stem section and said second stem section, said pull wire transmitting force from said handle to said tissue engaging means to engage tissue with said tissue engaging means.
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39. A surgical instrument as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a push rod extending in a passage through said first stem section and said second stem section, said push rod transmitting force from said handle to said tissue engaging means to engage tissue with said tissue engaging means.
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40. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a manually engageable handle;
a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from said handle;
tissue engaging means for engaging tissue, said tissue engaging means including at least a first tissue engaging member;
a second stem section connected between said first stem section and said tissue engaging means, said second stem section having at least a portion which is bendable, said second stem section supporting said tissue engaging means for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
means for supporting said tissue engaging means on said bendable portion of said second stem section; and
means for bending said bendable portion of said second stem section to change the orientation of said tissue engaging means relative to said axis and to said first stem section from a first orientation to a second orientation, said means for bending including a plurality of elongate control members extending axially along said first and second stem sections;
said movable portion of said second stem section comprising;
a resilient inner tubular member defining a central passage in said second stem section through which said elongate actuator member extends, said inner tubular member being made from a superelastic metal;
a flexible outer tubular member coaxial with and disposed radially outward of said inner tubular member; and
passage means for defining a plurality of control member passages disposed radially between said inner tubular member and said outer tubular member, said elongate control members extending through said control member passages.
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41. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a manually engageable handle;
a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from said handle;
tissue engaging means for engaging tissue, said tissue engaging means including at least a first tissue engaging member;
a second stem section connected between said first stem section and said tissue engaging means, said second stem section having at least a portion which is bendable, said second stem section supporting said tissue engaging means for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
means for supporting said first tissue engaging member on said bendable portion of said second stem section; and
means for bending said bendable portion of said second stem section to change the orientation of said tissue engaging means relative to said axis and to said first stem section from a first orientation to a second orientation;
said movable portion of said second stem section comprising a plurality of independently movable link portions and a plurality of pivot joints, each pivot joint defining a respective pivot axis, each pivot joint interconnecting a pair of adjacent ones of said plurality of link portions for relative pivotal movement about its respective pivot axis, all of said pivot axes extending generally parallel to each other.
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42. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a manually engageable handle;
a first stem section having a longitudinal axis and extending from said handle;
tissue engaging means for engaging tissue, said tissue engaging means including at least a first tissue engaging member;
a second stem section connected between said first stem section and said tissue engaging means, said second stem section having at least a portion which is bendable, said second stem section supporting said tissue engaging means for movement between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
means for supporting said first tissue engaging member on said bendable portion of said second stem section; and
means for bending said bendable portion of said second stem section to move said tissue engaging means through an arcuate path between a plurality of orientations relative to said axis and to said first stem section;
said bendable portion of said second stem section comprising means for enabling bending movement of said bendable portion of said second stem section to move said tissue engaging means through a plurality of arcuate paths which are of different lengths and which are spaced apart from each other along said longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification