Features to enhance staple height consistency in curved surgical stapler

An apparatus comprising:

• (a) a body;
• (b) a shaft extending distally from the body;
• and
• (c) an end effector at a distal end of the shaft, wherein the end effector includes:
• (i) a housing that includes a plurality of staples,
• (ii) an anvil opposed from the housing, the anvil including an anvil plate portion, wherein the anvil and the housing are configured to cooperate to clamp tissue, wherein the anvil is configured to form staples ejected from the housing into the clamped tissue, and
• (iii) a backing member coupled with the anvil plate portion, wherein each of the backing member and the anvil extends along a plane that orthogonally intersects a longitudinal axis of the shaft, wherein the backing member includes a concavely curved surface that defines a gap between the backing member and an adjacent component of the end effector, wherein the anvil plate portion is configured to deflect in a direction toward the concavely curved surface in response to actuation of the apparatus to at least one of clamp tissue or staple tissue.

An apparatus comprising:

• (a) a body;
• (b) a shaft extending distally from the body along a shaft axis;
• and
• (c) an end effector at a distal end of the shaft, wherein the end effector includes:
• (i) a housing that includes a plurality of staples,
• (ii) an anvil arranged distal to the housing, the anvil including an anvil plate portion, wherein the anvil and the housing are configured to cooperate to clamp tissue in a plane that intersects the shaft axis, wherein the anvil k configured to form staples ejected from the housing into the clamped tissue, and
• (iii) a backing member coupled with a distal side of the anvil plate portion, wherein a proximal side of the backing member includes a concavely curved surface that faces proximally and defines a gap between the backing member and the distal side of the anvil plate portion,
• wherein the anvil plate portion is configured to deflect distally into the gap in response to actuation of the apparatus to at least one of clamp tissue or staple tissue.