Surgical instrument and staples for applying purse string sutures

A surgical instrument of applying a purse string suture to tissue, comprising:

• a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs;
• a pair of elongated handles pivotally connected together, said handles supporting a pair of jaws for receiving the tissue therebetween;
• a pair of staple cartridges mounted on said jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue clamping surfaces for clamping the tissue therebetween;
• a row of staple receiving slots defining an axis formed in each of said cartridges, each slot being able to receive a staple with its legs pointing toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge;
• a central slot extending along said tissue clamping surface of each staple cartridge for receiving a purse string suture connected to the staples in each of said staple receiving slots;
• a staple pusher bar slidably mounted in each cartridge and able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge upon movement of said staple pusher bar in a direction parallel to the axis of said cartridge;
• and
• actuating means on one of said handles for sliding the pusher bar in each staple cartridge to bend the staple legs and secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue clamped between said cartridges.

A staple cartridge, comprising:

• a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs;
• an elongated housing including a tissue engaging surface, a plurality of transverse slots extending into said housing from said tissue engaging surface for receiving said staples therein, and an elongated central slot for receiving a purse string suture attached to each of the staples, said central slot extending longitudinally along said housing and intersecting said transverse slots;
• and
• a staple pusher bar slidably mounted for longitudinal movement in said housing, said staple pusher bar being able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.

A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising:

• positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including an eyelet for receiving the purse string suture;
• threading the purse string suture through the eyelets of said staples to attach the purse string suture to the staples;
• and
• driving the staples into the tissue to secure the purse string suture thereto.

A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising:

• positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including a loop for receiving the purse string suture and a pair of deformable legs;
• threading the purse string suture through the loops of each staple;
• and
• deforming the staple legs into an overlapping configuration to form another loop extending into the tissue to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.