Adjunct release for surgical staplers

An end effector for use with a surgical stapling instrument, comprising:

• a first jaw having a staple cartridge with a plurality of staple cavities configured to seat staples therein, and an adjunct attached to a tissue-facing surface of the cartridge and overlying the plurality of staple cavities;
• a second jaw having an anvil with a plurality of staple-forming cavities formed on a tissue-facing surface thereof, the first and second jaws being configured to clamp the tissue therebetween;
• and
• a plurality of drivers disposed within the cartridge and configured to deploy a plurality of staples through the staple cavities, through the adjunct, and into tissue engaged between the first and second jaws, and to simultaneously cause the adjunct to detach from the cartridge,
• wherein the cartridge has a plurality of connection cavities formed in the tissue-facing surface thereof and separate from the plurality of staple cavities, and the adjunct has a plurality of protrusions formed thereon configured to extend into the plurality of connection cavities for attaching the adjunct to the cartridge.

A staple cartridge assembly for use with a surgical stapler, comprising:

• a cartridge body having a plurality of staple cavities and a plurality of connection cavities on a tissue-facing surface thereof, each staple cavity having a staple disposed therein that is configured to be deployed into tissue;
• an adjunct disposed on the tissue-facing surface of the cartridge body, the adjunct having a plurality of protrusions configured to engage with the plurality of connection cavities to secure the adjunct thereto;
• and
• a plurality of drivers disposed within the cartridge body, each driver having at least one staple portion configured to seat a staple therein and to deploy the staple therefrom, each driver having at least one adjunct releasing mechanism located thereon and being configured to drive the plurality of protrusions out of the plurality of connection cavities to release the adjunct from the cartridge body, the at least one adjunct releasing mechanism being configured to extend beyond the tissue-facing surface of the cartridge body when releasing the adjunct while the at least one staple portion being configured to deploy a corresponding staple without extending beyond the tissue-facing surface of the cartridge body.