Surgical Stapling Instruments Including A Cartridge Having Multiple Staple Sizes
AssigneeTyco Healthcare Group LP
InventorsHenry E. Holsten, Frank J. Viola, Clifford L. Emmons
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims12
A surgical stapling instrument comprising:
- an anvil having a first annular array of staple forming depressions and a second annular array of staple forming depressions;
- a staple retaining portion having a first tissue contacting surface with a first height with respect to a bottom surface of the instrument and a second tissue contacting surface with a second height with respect to the bottom surface of the instrument, the first height being different than the second height;
- a first annular array of staple retaining slots disposed in the staple retaining portion and arranged for alignment with the first annular array of staple forming depressions;
- a second annular array of staple retaining slots disposed in the staple retaining portion and arranged for alignment with the second annular array of staple forming depressions, wherein when the anvil and the staple retaining portion are in close cooperative alignment;
- a first plurality of staples disposed in the first annular array of staple retaining slots, each staple in the first plurality of staples having a first leg length;
- and
- a second plurality of staples disposed in the second annular array of staple retaining slots, each staple in the second plurality of staples having a second leg length that is different from the first leg length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.