Surgical stapler

A surgical stapler comprising

• a handle extending along an axis,
• a vessel gripping structure having opposed first and second outwardly facing portions at an end thereof, said end being shaped and dimensioned such that a blood vessel may pass along the axis through the interior of the structure and be everted to form a cuff over the outwardly-facing portions,
• a staple base structure aligned with the outwardly facing portions of said vessel gripping structure, said staple base structure being fitted about a portion of the structure through which the blood vessel passes so that said outwardly-facing portions and said base structure each surround the blood vessel while securing the cuff therebetween,
• means for adjusting the spacing between said staple base structure and said outwardly-facing portions to accommodate a desired thickness of vessel tissue without applying destructive pressure to the cuff, and
• means for driving staples between the base structure and the outwardly-facing portions through said cuff to autosuture tissue to said cuff.

A surgical stapler comprising

• a set of tongs having a central axial passage for passage of a tubular member therethrough and an enlarged head comprised of a pair of half-=cylindrical tip members such that an end of the tubular member may be everted over the head and secured,
• a collar structure removably placeable about the tongs adjacent the head,
• a circular staple cartridge and a circular staple anvil each contained in a different one of said head and said collar, and
• means for driving staples against the anvil to staple the everted end of the tubular member to a layer of tissue placed between said head and said collar structure.

A surgical stapler comprising

• a set of tongs having a central axial passage for passage of a tubular member therethrough and an enlarged head such that an end of the tubular member may be everted over the head and secured,
• a collar structure removably placeable about the tongs adjacent the head,
• a circular staple cartridge and a circular staple anvil each contained in a different one of said head and said collar.
• means for driving staples against the anvil to staple the everted end of the tubular member to a layer of tissue placed between said head and said collar structure, said means for driving including non-rigid coupling means, and
• a circular knife located radially inward from said circular staple cartridge for trimming material located topologically outside of said tubular member.

A surgical stapler comprising

• a set of tongs extending along an axis and defining an axial passage centrally between said tongs for a blood vessel extending therealong, said tongs having at one end a pair of vessel gripping jaws sized for everting the end of the blood vessel to form a cuff supported by said jaws, each said jaw including an outwardly facing anvil portion adjacent said one end,
• a structure mounted about the tongs to position surgical staples in alignment over the anvil portions.
• means for setting a spacing between the tongs and the structure to accommodate a tissue layer placed over said cuff, and
• means for driving the surgical staples against the anvil portions to join the tissue layer and cuff thereby anastomosing the blood vessel segment to the tissue layer.

A surgical stapler comprising

• a vessel gripping structure having opposed first and second outwardly-directed anvils at gripping jaws thereof, said jaws defining a channel extending along an axis therebetween for passage of a vessel through said channel, said jaws being dimensioned such that an end of the vessel exiting said channel may be everted to form a cuff over the anvils,
• a pair of surrounding members aligned with said vessel gripping structure, each surrounding member having a staple-holding head portion which holds a plurality of surgical staples aligned with a corresponding one of said first or second anvils so that the staples are closed when driven against a said anvil,
• means for adjusting the spacing between said pair of surrounding members and said anvils to accommodate a desired thickness of vessel tissue without destrictive pressure, and
• means for driving the staples of each staple holding head against the anvil aligned therewith to autosuture tissue to said cuff.