Surgical stapling apparatus

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a housing;
• a handle supported by the housing;
• an elongated body extending distally from the housing;
• a tool assembly at the distal end of the elongated body, the tool assembly having a cartridge assembly including a staple cartridge having a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, and an anvil assembly, at least one of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly being movable in relation to the other of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly;
• a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of at least one of the anvil plate and the staple cartridge by an anchor, wherein each of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly includes a constricting, open-ended, side slot configured to grip an end of the anchor of each surgical buttress;
• a release assembly associated with each of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly;
• and
• a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly from a proximal position to a distal position, the drive assembly actuating the release assembly to push the end of the anchor out of the slot and to free the surgical buttress from the at least one of the anvil assembly and cartridge assembly.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a housing;
• a handle supported by the housing;
• an elongated body extending distally from the housing;
• a tool assembly at the distal end of the elongated body, the tool assembly having a cartridge assembly including a staple cartridge having a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, and an anvil assembly, at least one of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly being movable in relation to the other of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly;
• a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of at least one of the anvil plate and the staple cartridge by an anchor, at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly includes a constricting, open-ended, slot configured to grip an end of the anchor;
• a release assembly associated with the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly, wherein the release assembly includes a pusher that is in operative association with the slot, the pusher being actuatable to push the end of the anchor out of the slot, wherein the pusher of the release assembly is pivotally connected to the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly;
• and
• a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly from a proximal position to a distal position, the drive assembly actuating the release assembly to push the end of the anchor out of the slot and to free the surgical buttress from the at least one of the anvil assembly and cartridge assembly.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a housing;
• a handle supported by the housing;
• an elongated body extending distally from the housing;
• a tool assembly at the distal end of the elongated body, the tool assembly having a cartridge assembly including a staple cartridge having a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, and an anvil assembly, at least one of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly being movable in relation to the other of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly;
• a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of at least one of the anvil plate and the staple cartridge by an anchor, at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly includes a constricting, open-ended, slot configured to grip an end of the anchor;
• a release assembly associated with the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly, wherein the release assembly includes a pusher that is in operative association with the slot, the pusher being actuatable to push the end of the anchor out of the slot, wherein the pusher of the release assembly is slidably supported in the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly;
• and
• a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly from a proximal position to a distal position, the drive assembly actuating the release assembly to push the end of the anchor out of the slot and to free the surgical buttress from the at least one of the anvil assembly and cartridge assembly.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a housing;
• a handle supported by the housing;
• an elongated body extending distally from the housing;
• a tool assembly at the distal end of the elongated body, the tool assembly having a cartridge assembly including a staple cartridge having a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, and an anvil assembly, at least one of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly being movable in relation to the other of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly;
• a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of at least one of the anvil plate and the staple cartridge by an anchor, at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly includes a constricting, open-ended, slot configured to grip an end of the anchor;
• a release assembly associated with the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly, wherein the release assembly includes a pusher that is in operative association with the slot, the pusher being actuatable to push the end of the anchor out of the slot, wherein the pusher is pivotably mounted in the at least one of the cartridge assembly and the anvil assembly;
• and
• a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly from a proximal position to a distal position, the drive assembly actuating the release assembly to push the end of the anchor out of the slot and to free the surgical buttress from the at least one of the anvil assembly and cartridge assembly.

A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:

• a housing;
• a handle supported by the housing;
• an elongated body extending distally from the housing;
• a tool assembly at the distal end of the elongated body, the tool assembly having a cartridge assembly including a staple cartridge having a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, and an anvil assembly, at least one of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly being movable in relation to the other of the cartridge assembly and anvil assembly;
• a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of at least one of the anvil plate and the staple cartridge by an anchor, at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly includes a constricting, open-ended, slot configured to grip an end of the anchor;
• a release assembly associated with the at least one of the anvil assembly and the cartridge assembly, wherein the release assembly includes a head portion having an angled surface, wherein the head portion is mounted in the at least one of the cartridge assembly and the anvil assembly so that the angled surface faces the slot;
• and
• a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly from a proximal position to a distal position, the drive assembly actuating the release assembly to push the end of the anchor out of the slot and to free the surgical buttress from the at least one of the anvil assembly and cartridge assembly.