Hollow body organ stapling instrument and disposable cartridge employing relief vents

A surgical stapling apparatus, at least part of which fits within two disconnected sections of hollow tubular organs made of tissue, each of said sections having an end portion, for joining together said end portions of said sections with an arrangement of a plurality of staples driven simultaneously within a time period of about one second and forming a closed annular pattern, said sections releasing fluids, such as blood, during joining, said apparatus comprising:

• a staple-carrying part including (a) a staple guide body defining a closed annular pattern including two concentric rows of staple-holding grooves within which said staples are carried, (b) staple ejector means movably mounted in said staple-carrying part for ejecting said staples from said staple-holding grooves, and (c) an annular knife movably mounted in said staple-carrying part inside said staple guide body and concentric with said closed annular pattern of staple-holding grooves for cutting the tissue inside said closed annular pattern of staples substantially simultaneously with the driving of said staples;
• an anvil-carrying part including (a) an anvil body defining a closed annular pattern including two concentric rows of spaced staple-clinching grooves against which said staples are formed, and (b) a longitudinal anvil-supporting member extending from the staple-carrying part to the anvil body for supporting the anvil body relative to the staple-carrying part, said anvil-supporting member being located inside said closed annular pattern of staple-holding and staple-clinching grooves and also inside said annular knife, said anvil-supporting member being supported for longitudinal reciprocal motion relative to said staple-carrying part parallel to the axes along which said staples are ejected from said staple-holding grooves by means for slidably engaging a first annular portion of the peripheral surface of said anvil-supporting member, said anvil body being supported by contact with a second annular portion of the peripheral surface of said anvil-supporting member, said end portion of a first of said sections being fitted over said staple guide body with the end of said first section being gathered and secured around said anvil-supporting member between said staple guide body and said anvil body, and said end portion of a second of said sections being fitted over said anvil body with the end of said second section being gathered and secured around said anvil-supporting member between said staple guide body and said anvil body;
• means for moving said staple-carrying part and said anvil-carrying part, one towards the other, to clamp an annulus of said end portions to be stapled between said staple guide body and said anvil body and, thereupon, to define a closed cavity between and within said staple guide body and said anvil body, said closed cavity being partly bounded by said annulus of clamped tissue, said ends of said first and second sections which are gathered around said anvil-supporting member being disposed within said cavity;
• means for moving said staple ejector means and said annular knife toward said anvil-carrying part to eject said staples from said staple-holding grooves to staple said annulus of clamped tissue with two concentric rows of staples and to cut the tissue inside said annulus of stapled clamped tissue, the movement of said staple ejector means and said annular knife occupying a time period of about one second and resulting in a correspondingly rapid reduction in the volume of said closed cavity;
• and
• relief means defined by at least one of said staple-carrying and said anvil-carrying parts to communicate said closed cavity to the exterior of the apparatus for relieving and venting said closed cavity to allow gas and liquid in the cavity to escape and thereby prevent any buildup of pressure in said closed cavity as a result of the sudden reduction in volume in said closed cavity produced by the rapid movement of said staple ejector means and said annular knife, said relief means passing through the structure of said staple-carrying part or said anvil-carrying part or both of said parts without using any part of the first or second annular portions of the peripheral surface of the anvil-supporting member to define any portion of said relief means.