Ultrasonic surgical instruments

An ultrasonic surgical instrument, comprising:

• a housing having an elongated shaft extending therefrom, the shaft defining a longitudinal axis therethrough and having a pair of first and second jaw members disposed at a distal end thereof, the first jaw member movable between an open configuration and a clamping configuration, and the second jaw member translatable along the longitudinal axis of the shaft from a retracted configuration to an extended configuration;
• and
• a cutting blade extending from the distal end of the shaft and operably coupled to the housing and adjacent the first and second jaw members,
• wherein the second jaw member is moveable to the extended configuration to cover a bottom portion of the cutting blade, and
• wherein the second jaw member is made from a material having relatively high thermal conductivity to facilitate cooling of the cutting blade when in the extended configuration, and wherein a bottom portion of the second jaw member is covered with a thermally insulative material to reduce thermal spread from the second jaw member to tissue adjacent the tissue of interest when the second jaw member is in the extended configuration cooling the cutting blade.