Laparoscopic anastomosis devices and methods of use thereof

An apparatus for anastomosis, comprising:

• an elongate body;
• and
• an end effector coupled to a distal end of the elongate body, the end effector including:
• a first end effector element configured to hold a first coupler element;
• a second end effector element configured to hold a second coupler element, and
• articulation members coupling each of the first end effector element and the second end effector element to the elongate body, the articulation members configured to transition the end effector between a first configuration in which the first end effector element is configured to receive an end of a first vessel in the first coupler element, and a second configuration in which the second end effector element is configured to receive an end of a second vessel in the second coupler element to enable the end effector to couple the ends of the first and second vessels.

An apparatus for anastomosis, comprising:

• an elongate body;
• a first end effector element configured to hold a first coupler element;
• a second end effector element configured to hold a second coupler element, each of the first and second end effector elements having a proximal end coupled to the elongate body, a distal end of the second end effector element articulably coupled to a distal end of the first end effector element,
• the first and second end effector elements configured to transition the end effector between:
• a first configuration in which the first end effector element is configured to enable an end of a first vessel to be received into the first coupler element;
• a second configuration in which the second end effector element is configured to enable an end of a second vessel to be received into the second coupler element, the second configuration different from the first configuration;
• and
• a third configuration in which the first and second end effector elements are disposed proximate to each other to couple the first coupler element to the second coupler element, thereby coupling the corresponding ends of the first vessel and the second vessel.

A method of using an apparatus for anastomosis, the apparatus including an end effector including a first end effector element and a second end effector element coupled to an elongate body via articulation members, the method comprising:

• transitioning the end effector to a first configuration via the articulation members;
• receiving an end of a first vessel in a first coupler element coupled to the first end effector element;
• transitioning the end effector to a second configuration different from the first configuration via the articulation members;
• receiving an end of a second vessel in a second coupler element coupled to the second end effector element;
• and
• transitioning the end effector to a third configuration different from the first and second configurations via the articulation members to cause the first and second coupler elements to couple to each other to couple the corresponding received ends of the first vessel and the second vessel.