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AssigneeUnited States Surgical Corporation
InventorsDavid T. Green, Keith Ratcliff, Keith L. Milliman, Henry R. Sienkiewicz, Mitchell J. Palmer
Estimating the term…
A self contained gas powered endoscopic surgical apparatus is provided for placing lateral lines of surgical fasteners into body tissue. The apparatus includes a frame portion, an elongated portion extending from the frame portion, and an articulating cartridge assembly mounted to a distal end of the elongated portion. An anvil member is operatively associated with the articulating cartridge assembly and has a forming surface, thereon against which surgical fasteners are driven as they are ejected from the cartridge assembly. A collar which is provided in the elongated portion translates longitudinally to draw a cable which operates to move the anvil member relative to the cartridge assembly, thereby clamping body tissue to be fastened. A self contained pneumatic system is associated with the frame portion and is actuable to eject the surgical fasteners from the cartridge assembly. A linkage mechanism is also provided for effectuating the articulation of the cartridge assembly to increase the range of operability of the apparatus.
Apparatus for driving surgical fastners comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
For applying a row of staples in a single action, e.g. the staples being applied simultaneously: the staples being applied sequentially
Surgical instruments, devices or methods: for minimally invasive surgery
Surgical instruments, devices or methods: disposable
Surgical instruments, devices or methods: pneumatically or hydraulically operated
Term ended 18 Oct 2011 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical stapling apparatus, and more particularly to surgical apparatus which are powered by self contained relatively low pressure gas systems to perform sequential operations such as tissue clamping, staple forming and/or tissue cutting.
2. Description of Related Art
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self contained gas powered endoscopic surgical instrument in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the frame and pneumatic assembly of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;
It is generally accepted that endoscopic procedures are more common than laparoscopic procedures. Accordingly, the present invention shall be discussed in terms of endoscopic procedures and apparatus. However, use herein of terms such as "endoscopic", "endoscopically" and "endoscopic potion", among others, should not be construed to limit the present invention to a stapling and cutting apparatus for use only in conjunction with an endoscopic tube. On the contrary, it is believed that the present invention may find use in any procedure where access is limited to a small incision, including but not limited to laparoscopic procedures. Also, as used herein the terms "fasteners" and "staples" shall be treated equivalently. Unless otherwise stated, the term "cartridge assembly" shall include at least the cartridge itself and staples or fasteners and staple drive members disposed therein.
In the drawings and the description which follows, as is customary, the term "proximal" refers to the end which is closest to the operator while the term "distal" will refer to the end which is furthest from the operator.
Referring to FIG. 1, a self contained gas powered endoscopic surgical apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is illustrated and is designated generally by reference numeral 50. Surgical apparatus 50 essentially comprises a frame portion 52 and an elongated portion 54. An anvil member 56 and an articulating cartridge assembly 58 are preferably removably mounted in a distal end portion 60 of elongated portion 54. Anvil member 56 and cartridge assembly 58 manually controlled by means of an articulating handle 62 associated with frame portion 52. More particularly, handle 62 interconnects with anvil member 56 by means of a linkage and cable assembly which is associated with the elongated portion 54 such that when handle 62 is articulated from an open position (see FIG. 3) to a closed position (see FIG. 5), anvil member 56 is moved into close approximation with the articulating cartridge assembly 58. This operation will be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow.