Accessories for minimally invasive robotic surgery and methods

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the at least one surgical accessory is introduced into the cavity supported by a surgical accessory support independently of a distal end effector of said tool, and is removable from the surgical accessory support within the cavity.

A method of performing a minimally invasive robotic surgical procedure in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the surgical accessory is introduced into the cavity through an opening in a cavity wall by connecting the surgical accessory with a distal portion of an extension line and inserting the surgical accessory and the distal portion of the extension line into the cavity through the cavity wall, the surgical accessory being movable between a first position close to the opening and a second position away from the opening during the course of the surgical procedure.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the surgical accessory comprises a tool tip which is releasably mounted to a working member of the robotic surgical tool to form a tool tip of the tool.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the surgical accessory comprises at least one tool tip which is releasably coupled with a working member of the robotic surgical tool to form a tool tip of the tool;
• and
• wherein the robotic surgical tool includes a pair of working members and the at least one tool tip includes a pair of tool tips are releasably coupled with the pair of working members of the robotic surgical tool to form tool tips of the tool.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the surgical accessory comprises a sheath which is releasably coupled with the robotic surgical tool.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• and
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity, wherein the robotic surgical tool comprises a pair of working members, and wherein the surgical accessory comprises a pair of fingers movably supported on a collar which is releasably coupled with the robotic surgical tool in a coupled position, the pair of fingers mating with the pair of working members to be movable by the pair of working members in the coupled position.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing at least one surgical accessory into the cavity;
• introducing a robotic surgical tool into the cavity;
• coupling the surgical accessory with the robotic surgical tool inside the cavity after introducing the surgical accessory and the robotic surgical tool into the cavity,
• said coupling being by actuating a portion of a master control device located remotely from the patient by a user to control the robotic surgical tool to grasp the surgical accessory;
• and
• causing the robotic surgical tool to continue to grasp the surgical accessory without requiring the user to continue to actuate the actuatable portion of the master control device.

A method of performing minimally invasive robotic surgery in a body cavity of a patient, the method comprising:

• introducing a robotic fastening tool into the cavity;
• introducing a surgical accessory support into the cavity, the surgical accessory support supporting a plurality of fastening accessories;
• loading one of the fastening accessories in the robotic fastening tool inside the cavity;
• and
• affixing the loaded fastening accessory to a target tissue inside the cavity with the robotic fastening tool.