Energized suction and irrigation device for robotic surgical system

A surgical instrument comprising:

• (a) a shaft assembly extending distally along a longitudinal axis, wherein the shaft assembly includes a fluid passageway;
• (b) an end effector comprising:
• (i) an electrode configured to apply electrosurgical energy to tissue, and
• (ii) at least one aperture in fluid communication with the fluid passageway, wherein the aperture is configured to receive a fluid or a vacuum therethrough for irrigating the tissue or removing debris from the patient;
• and
• (c) an articulatable section disposed between the shaft assembly and the end effector, wherein the articulatable section is configured to deflect the end effector between a straight configuration where the end effector extends along the longitudinal axis and an articulated configuration where the end effector is deflected away from the longitudinal axis, wherein the articulatable section includes a flexible metallic feature configured to transmit the electrosurgical energy through the articulatable section to the electrode.

A robotic surgical system, comprising:

• (a) a robotic arm;
• and
• (b) a surgical instrument configured to connect with the robotic arm and be inserted into a patient, the surgical instrument comprising:
• (i) a shaft assembly projecting distally from the robotic arm along a longitudinal axis, wherein the shaft assembly includes a fluid passageway,
• (ii) an end effector comprising:
• (A) an electrode configured to apply electrosurgical energy to tissue, and
• (B) at least one aperture in fluid communication with the fluid passageway, wherein the at least one aperture is configured to receive a fluid or a vacuum therethrough for irrigating the tissue or removing debris from the patient, and
• (iii) an energy breaker configured to prevent energizing the irrigation fluid by terminating a flow of current to the electrode in response to application of the irrigation fluid.