Surgical instruments for applying multiple clips to tissue

Abstract

A surgical instrument for applying surgical clips to tissue comprises an end effector having first and second jaws that are movable between open and closed positions. The instrument includes a clip cartridge within the shaft and comprising a first proximal clip and a second distal clip that are spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis. A drive member is configured to translate through the shaft to the end effector and includes first and second engagement elements for advancing the proximal and distal clips distally through the shaft. This allows the drive member to automatically advance the proximal clip(s) distally forward in the clip cartridge as the distal clip is delivered to the jaws, which increases the speed and efficiency of applying multiple clips to the target site and reduces disruption to the surgeon's workflow.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.