Surgical stapling apparatus with reprocessible handle assembly
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsKevin R. Doll, Bret W. Smith, William D. Kelly, Joshua R. Uth, Charles J. Scheib, Frederick E. Shelton, IV
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A reusable surgical stapling apparatus that is configured for use with disposable loading units. Various embodiments include a first handle segment and a second handle segment that is detachably coupled to the first handle segment to form a handle housing. A firing assembly may be removably supported in the handle housing as a lift out removable unit for sterilization purposes. Various sterilization methods are disclosed.
Claims13
A reusable surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- a first handle segment;
- a second handle segment detachably coupled to said first handle segment to form a handle housing;
- a firing assembly removably supported in said handle housing as a lift out removable unit and comprising a movable handle and an actuation shaft mounted for longitudinal movement in response to manipulation of said movable handle;
- and
- a control rod assembly having a proximal end removably interfacing with said firing assembly, said control rod assembly protruding outward from said handle housing and having a distal end configured to be operably attached to a disposable loading unit.
A reusable surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- a first handle segment;
- a second handle segment detachably coupled to said first handle segment by at least one quick disconnect fastener to form a handle housing;
- a firing assembly sized to be removably supported within said handle housing and removed therefrom as a unit, said firing assembly comprising:
- an internal frame assembly;
- a movable handle operably coupled to said internal frame assembly;
- an actuation shaft mounted for longitudinal movement within said internal frame assembly, said actuation shaft longitudinally movable in a distal direction in response to manipulation of said movable handle and a proximal direction in response to a retraction motion applied thereto;
- a retraction mechanism coupled to said actuation shaft for selectively applying said retraction motion to said actuation shaft;
- and
- a control rod assembly having a proximal end removably interfacing with said firing assembly, said control rod assembly protruding outward from said handle housing and having a distal end configured to be operably attached to a disposable loading unit.
A reusable surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- a first handle segment;
- a second handle segment;
- means for detachably coupling said second housing segment to said first segment to form a handle housing;
- a firing assembly sized to be removably supported within said handle housing and removed therefrom as a unit, said firing assembly comprising:
- an internal frame assembly;
- a movable handle operably coupled to said internal frame assembly;
- an actuation shaft mounted for longitudinal movement within said internal frame assembly, said actuation shaft longitudinally movable in a distal direction in response to manipulation of said movable handle and a proximal direction in response to a retraction motion applied thereto;
- means for selectively applying said retraction motion to said actuation shaft;
- and
- a control rod assembly having a proximal end removably interfacing with said firing assembly, said control rod assembly protruding outward from said handle housing, and having a distal end configured to be operably attached to a disposable loading unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.