Abstract: A surgical instrument which has a frame, an elongated shaft, an end effector with first and second jaws for clamping tissue, a post cooperatively engaged with the proximal end of the second jaw received in a slot on the sidewall of a channel included as part of the first jaw, a pusher member affixed to the proximal end of the second jaw, and an actuator to effect movement of the pusher member from a forward position to a rearward position, is disclosed. When the pusher member moves rearwardly, the post rides in the slot in the sidewall and the second jaw moves from a closed position where it is adjacent the first jaw for clamping tissue to an open position for placing tissue between the jaws. The combination of cooperating elements of the instrument provides a convenient and simple mechanism for clamping or grasping tissue between the jaws. This mechanism decreases the force necessary to clamp the tissue and utilizes more of the effective length of the second jaw.

Abstract: A surgical instrument which has override protection when excessively thick tissue is attempted to be clamped between opposed jaws of an end effector is disclosed. The instrument includes a frame, a shaft extending from the frame, an end effector connected to the shaft distal end which includes movable, opposed jaws for clamping tissue therebetween, a clamping trigger, a resilient spring element fixed to the trigger, an actuator which translates movement from the clamping trigger to the movable jaws for clamping tissue, and an engaging element which is biased by the spring element against the actuator. When routine forces are applied by the user as the clamping trigger is moved to clamp tissue between the jaws, the engaging element causes the actuator to move in a forward direction for corresponding movement of the jaws from an open to a closed position.

Abstract: A surgical plug and method are disclosed for minimizing leakage of insufflation fluid from an inflated body cavity through a puncture opening during an endoscopic surgical procedure. The surgical plug and method can be used to maintain insufflation during an endoscopic surgical procedure. The surgical plug includes a cap to plug the puncture opening and seal it, and a shaft extending from the cap into the body cavity. The shaft has helical thread, and the shaft is screwed into and through the opening until the cap is adjacent the body wall through which the opening is made. The surgical plug is stable and can maintain its sealing effect throughout an entire endoscopic surgical procedure. It also does not obstruct or interfere with the field of vision at the surgical site within the body cavity during the procedure. The method of using the surgical plug is simple and straightforward.

Abstract: An anvil for a surgical fastener assembly is disclosed. The anvil has a staple-forming surface upon which a plurality of pockets are displayed for staple formation. First and second sidewalls extend from the staple-forming surface. Cutting guides extend laterally from the sidewalls to provide a uniform surface upon which a user can apply pressure with a scalpel to staple tissue in a direction generally parallel to the vertical staple row. An even margin can be maintained between the staple row and the cut line, thus increasing the degree of confidence and skill that the user can employ when cutting the fastened tissue.

Abstract: A trocar containing a universal seal for sealing against surgical instruments of varying diameter to maintain insufflation in the body cavity is disclosed. The universal seal has an elastomeric sealing component with a centrally located interior region containing an aperture, and a concentrically located sealing region. The sealing region is composed of an integral laminate having an overlaying layer co-molded with an underlying layer. The overlaying layer has a hardness between about 40 Shore A Durometer Scale and about 80 Shore D Durometer Scale. The underlying layer has a hardness between about 5 Shore A Durometer Scale and about 40 Shore A Durometer Scale. The co-molded laminate balances the properties of tear resistance and elasticity which are necessary for a working universal seal, and does so without the need for resilient legs or protectors to facilitate the opening of the aperture of the seal or to prevent tearing when instruments are inserted.

Abstract: A trocar having an obturator with an obturator housing, a piercing tip and a rigid stem is disclosed. The piercing tip has a cutting edge surface and first and second spaced-apart legs generally parallel to each other extending away from the cutting edge surface. The stem is attached to the obturator housing at a first end of the obturator, and the legs of the piercing tip straddle the stem at an opposite end of the obturator. The straddling of the legs about the stem of the obturator fixes the piercing tip to the stem. The attachment of the piercing tip to the stem provides a secure attachment. The trocar is easy to manufacture and assemble, and the component parts can be readily disassembled. The piercing tip attachment is especially advantageous when the piercing tip is configured generally as a razor blade.

Abstract: A linear surgical stapler having clamping and firing triggers pivotally mounted to the frame of the instrument for pivotal rotation toward a hand grip is disclosed. The clamping trigger is positioned between the firing trigger and the hand grip. Each of the triggers are pivotally mounted to pivot pins spaced from each other within the body portion of the frame. Pivotal rotation of the first trigger is independent of pivotal rotation of the second trigger. When the clamping trigger is pivotally rotated toward the hand grip, the clamping and firing transmission assemblies move distally in tandem. Before the first trigger is pivoted, the firing transmission assembly blocks pivotal rotation of the second trigger. When the first trigger is pivoted, the initial distal movement of the firing transmission assembly enables the firing trigger to be in a position to pivotally rotate, and therefore cause the firing of staples.

Abstract: A surgical instrument for penetrating bodily tissue including an imaging element providing the capability for simultaneous visualization during penetration is disclosed. A transparent portion of the imaging element extends from the distal end of an elongated, substantially hollow shaft. The imaging element is shaped to enlarge an opening as the instrument is advanced into bodily tissue, and an endoscope can be inserted through the shaft adjacent the imaging element to visualize the penetration of tissue as the instrument is advanced. The imaging element may be substantially hollow, and have an annular interior region inside the shaft distal end. The endoscope can then be positioned to rest on the annular region to prevent glare from the reflection of light traveling from the endoscope to the window surface. The imaging element may also have a blade for facilitating the advance of the instrument through tissue.

Abstract: A surgical stapling instrument with a remotely articulated staple head assembly on a rotatable support shaft. A joy stick mounted to the shaft of the instrument near the handle allows for remote articulation of the staple head assembly. The staple head assembly includes a narrow contour for insertion between adjacent rib pairs without rib spreading. The staple head assembly further includes a reloadable staple cartridge which may be replaced with differently sized staples of a second cartridge. A closure trigger clamps tissue prior to stapling and cooperates with a second trigger that performs the staple firing operation. The triggers include a safety lock mechanism for preventing premature staple firing.

Abstract: A surgical penetration instrument has an elongated shaft and a penetrating tip extending from the distal end of the shaft. A blade extends outwardly from the penetrating tip. The blade is transparent. When the penetrating tip is transparent, the tip not only facilitates penetration through bodily tissue but also acts as an imaging element in conjunction with an endoscope extending through the shaft of the instrument to simultaneously visualize the surgical field during penetration. Significantly, unlike a conventional metallic blade, the transparent blade will not obstruct the field of view as the instrument is advanced. When the penetrating tip is plastic, and the blade is composed of a transparent plastic, the blade can be joined to the tip using conventional plastic processing methods such as injection molding, thus reducing manufacturing costs incurred if a metallic blade were used.

Abstract: A surgical instrument for penetrating or dissecting bodily tissue which provides for the capability for simultaneous visualization during penetration or dissection is disclosed. An endoscope can be inserted through the hollow shaft of the instrument to visualize the penetration or dissection. A locking assembly is featured which enables the user to initially slide the endoscope through the hollow shaft for proper positioning before the instrument is advanced into tissue, and then lock the endoscope in place to prevent substantial movement of the endoscope during advancement into tissue.

Abstract: An access assembly to provide access for surgical instruments during endoscopic surgical procedures and simultaneously seal the access opening when the instrument is withdrawn is disclosed. The assembly has a base, and an elastomeric sealing element and a tubular conduit. The base has a flange and a neck. The elastomeric sealing element has an inner elongated central channel which provides a passageway for surgical instruments into a body cavity. The sealing element also has an outer inflatable sleeve. When the space between the inner channel and outer sleeve is inflated, a distal balloon portion of the sleeve is inflated and the inner channel is compressed to constrict the inner channel passageway and therefore provide a seal.

Abstract: A surgical glove for endoscopic surgical procedures is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, the surgical glove has an inflatable wrist section, which when inflated, provides a seal between the surgeon's gloved hand and the body wall for obstructing the passage of gas from the abdominal cavity during endoscopic surgery. The inflated glove wrist section will conform to the surgeon's hand and the abdominal cavity wall to provide the seal and yet allow the surgeon's hand to move in an inward or outward direction transversely to the abdominal wall.

Abstract: An improved surgical stapler is disclosed having a tissue gripping ridge on at least one of the tissue contacting surfaces. The tissue contact surfaces are preferably displayed on both the anvil and the cartridge surfaces of the surgical stapler. The tissue gripping ridges preferably have serrated surfaces which mesh when in contact with each other to hold the tissue.The preferred embodiment of this invention describes the tissue gripping ridges along the periphery of the anvil and cartridge tissue contact surfaces. Another embodiment describes the tissue gripping ridges adjacent to the longitudinal knife slot.

Abstract: A multi-fire endoscopic stapler is disclosed. The stapler has a retractable cartridge where the cartridge is retractable from a staple-forming position in which the distal-most staple in the cartridge is aligned with a driver blade on a staple driver for forming the staple against an anvil. An elongated shaft communicates with the anvil and driver, and means exist for forming the staple from the proximal end of the shaft, and for sequentially advancing each staple in the cartridge to the distal end of the cartridge. The retractable nature of the cartridge creates the ability to provide the stapler with a flat, low-profile, by eliminating the conventional stacked configuration of the anvil, driver, and staple cartridge. The stapler may be inserted through a small diameter opening frequently found during minimally invasive endoscopic surgical procedures, and then manipulated to sequentially form numerous staples against the anvil, one staple at a time, until the desired number of staples are fired.

Abstract: A sealing device for endoscopic surgical procedures is disclosed. In one embodiment, the device has two inflatable toroidal sections connected by a transition section. The device is partially inserted into an abdominal opening in a deflated state, and then inflated to provide a seal for obstructing the passage of gas from the abdominal cavity during endoscopic surgery. Endoscopic instruments, or alternatively, the surgeon's hand, can penetrate through the lumen of the toroidal sections of the device. The lumen then conforms to the shape of the instrument or hand passed through it to maintain an adequate seal.In another embodiment, a sealing device to seal a trocar is disclosed. The device is an inflatable toroid shaped to fit securely within the housing of the trocar. Means are provided to selectively inflate or deflate the device to perform its intended sealing function, and instruments can be passed through the lumen of the toroid to access the surgical site without destroying the integrity of the seal.

Abstract: A self sealing flexible elastomeric valve is disclosed. The valve can be used to seal a trocar device from loss of gas pressure during a laparoscopic surgical procedure when a surgical instrument is inserted therethrough as well as when no instrument is inserted. The preferred one piece valve includes a flange having an aperture, and a cylindrical wall section which extends to a pair of mutually opposed sealing wall sections defining a generally S-shaped slit. This slit configuration at the end of these wall sections define the sealing surfaces. The flange preferably includes a concentrically dome shaped region with the aperture centrally displayed. The valve also is preferably composed of a silicone rubber. The valve has the advantages of simplicity of manufacture and assembly and the ability to provide an adequate seal against the surface of any surgical instrument inserted through it.

Abstract: A method of clamping suture strand by applying heat and compressive force to a polymeric surgical clip having first and second opposed leg members so as to clamp the suture strand between the opposed inner clamping surfaces of the first and second leg members; a surgical clip defined by first and second leg members, the first leg member having a hole therein; and a surgical device for clamping a clip about a suture, such device defined by a trigger-activated handle, clamping jaws with a heating element disposed on one of the clamping members of the clamping jaws, a shaft connecting the jaws to the handle, and means for activating the heating element and for delivering compressive force to the clamping jaws to close the clip about a suture.

Abstract: An improved method is disclosed of imparting a tint or color to a soft, hydrogel contact lens by uniformly dispersing a dye throughout the lens. The dye is composed of a water-soluble compound essentially free of ethylenic unsaturation. A homogeneous solution of the dye in a hydrophilic monomer is prepared, the solution is subjected to polymerization conditions to yield a hydrophilic polymer from which the lens is formed, and the dye dispersed within the polymer is bonded to the polymer by contact with aqueous base prior to final hydration.The finished lens does not require soaking in an aqueous solution of the dye to impart the desired tint or color to the lens. Additionally, the dye uniformly dispersed throughout the lens according to the improved method does not leach out of the lens or migrate within the lens.