Staple cartridge including collapsible deck arrangement
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsKatherine J. Schmid, Chester O. Baxter, III, Taylor W. Aronhalt, Joseph E. Young, Frederick E. Shelton, IV
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Abstract
A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapler can comprise a cartridge deck and a plurality of staples at least partially positioned within the cartridge deck. In various embodiments, the staples can comprise legs which extend upwardly from the deck wherein the deck can further include supports, or guides, which are configured to hold the staple legs in a particular alignment. In at least one such embodiment, the staple legs can extend upwardly from the supports into a tissue thickness compensator.
Claims20
A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapler including an anvil, said staple cartridge comprising:
- a plurality of staples, wherein each said staple comprises a base and at least two legs extending from said base;
- a deck, comprising:
- a deck surface;
- a plurality of apertures extending through said deck, wherein said legs of said staples at least partially extend into said apertures, and wherein said deck is collapsible toward said bases of said staples between an unfired position and a fired position when said staple legs are deformed by the anvil of the surgical stapler;
- and
- a plurality of guides extending from said deck surface, wherein each said guide is configured to slidably receive a said leg of a said staple therein.
A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapler including an anvil, said staple cartridge comprising:
- a plurality of staples, wherein each said staple comprises a base and a plurality of legs extending from said base;
- a cartridge deck, comprising:
- a deck surface;
- a plurality of apertures extending through said cartridge deck, wherein said legs of said staples are configured to slide within said apertures, and wherein said deck is descendible toward said bases of said staples between an unfired position and a fired position when said staple legs are deformed by the anvil of the surgical stapler;
- and
- a plurality of supports extending from said deck surface, wherein each said support is configured to slidably receive a said leg of a said staple therein.
An end effector for use with a surgical stapler, said end effector comprising:
- an anvil movable between an unfired position and a fired position;
- a staple cartridge support comprising a plurality of stationary staple supports extending therefrom;
- and
- a staple cartridge, comprising:
- a plurality of staples, wherein each said staple comprises a base and at least one leg extending from said base, and wherein said bases of said staples are positionable on said stationary staple supports;
- and
- a deck, comprising:
- a deck surface;
- a plurality of apertures extending through said deck, wherein said legs of said staples at least partially extend into said apertures, wherein said deck is collapsible in a direction toward said bases of said staples between an unfired position and a fired position when said staple legs are deformed by said anvil, and wherein said stationary staple supports are configured to be at least partially received within said apertures when said deck is in said fired position;
- and
- a plurality of guides extending from said deck surface, wherein each said guide is configured to slidably receive a said leg of a said staple therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.