Crimp and release of suture holding buttress material

#1. Technical Field

#The present disclosure relates to a system of attaching and releasing buttress material from an anvil. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a retention and release mechanism for crimping and disengaging a buttress material retention suture from the anvil.

#2. Background of Related Art

#An embodiment of the presently disclosed suture retention and release mechanism for use with a buttressed anvil assembly is disclosed herein with reference to the drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical stapling instrument having a buttressed anvil assembly incorporating a suture retention and release mechanism;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view, taken from below, of a distal end of the buttressed anvil assembly including a strip of buttress material and a retention suture;

#An embodiment of the presently disclosed retention and release mechanism for use in a buttressed anvil assembly will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings wherein like numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As is common in the art, the term ‘proximal” refers to that part or component closer to the user or operator, i.e. surgeon or physician, while the term “distal” refers to that part or component further away from the user.

#Referring to FIGS. 1-9, and initially with regard to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a surgical stapling instrument 10 incorporating an embodiment of the presently disclosed suture retention and release mechanism. Surgical stapling instrument 10 generally includes a pistol grip style handle 12 having an elongate tubular member 14 extending distally from handle 12. An end effector assembly 16 extends distally from a distal end 18 of elongate tubular member 14. End effector assembly 16 has a pair of end effectors including a buttressed anvil assembly 20 and a staple cartridge 22. Buttressed anvil assembly 20 is movably mounted relative to staple cartridge 22 and is movable from an open position spaced apart from staple cartridge 22 to a closed position bringing buttressed anvil assembly 20 into close cooperative alignment with staple cartridge 22. A movable part or trigger 24 is provided on handle 12 and is operable to move buttressed anvil assembly 20 between the open and closed positions. Additionally, trigger 24 is operable to actuate staple cartridge 22 in order to eject staples (not shown) contained in staple cartridge 22 from staple cartridge 22 into staple crimping pockets (FIG. 3) on buttressed anvil assembly 20 in a manner described in more detail herein below. A rotation knob 26 is provided on handle 12 to rotate elongate tubular member 16 and thereby orient end effector assembly 16 relative to a tissue being operated upon.

#Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, buttressed anvil assembly 20 generally includes an anvil member 28 having a strip of buttress material 30 positioned on an underside 32 of anvil member 28. Specifically, strip of buttress material 30 is positioned to lie on an anvil face 34 of anvil member 28. A retention component 36 is provided to maintain and secure strip of buttress material 30 in contact with anvil face 34 of anvil member 28 prior to stapling of tissue. Retention component 36 can comprise a strap, a suture, a thread, a cable, etc., and includes a backspan 38 and first and second ends 40 and 42, respectively, extending from backspan 38. Backspan 38 engages strip of buttress material 30 to hold strip of buttress material 30 against anvil face 34. First end 40 and second end 42 pass through clearance tracks such as first and second clearance tracks 44 and 46 formed in anvil member 28 and are secured to anvil member 28 in a manner described in more detail herein below. It should be noted that first and second clearance tracks 44 and 46, respectively, are dimensioned to allow first end 40 and second end 42 of retention component 36 to pass freely there through without binding or cinching within first clearance track 44 and second clearance track 46. Alternatively, one of first and second ends 40 and 42 of retention component 36 may be cinched or otherwise attached to anvil member 28 to retain retention component 36 with anvil member 28 upon removal of the operative site. Retention component 36 can be flexible, resilient, or rigid. Retention component 36 can be separate from, or integrally formed with the buttress material 30.