MX2008001320A - Staple pocket arrangement for surgical stapler - Google Patents

Abstract

A staple pocket arrangement on the anvil portion of a surgical stapler device includes pairs of staple pockets corresponding to each one of a plurality of staples to be closed. The staple pockets may have a generally triangular shape when viewed from above. Each respective staple leg is received at a longitudinal end of the staple pocket that provides a relatively wide target area for receiving the staple leg to eliminate or at least minimize the likelihood that a staple leg will miss the staple pocket due to, e.g., misalignment between a first jaw of the surgical stapler having the anvil and a second jaw of the surgical stapler having a cartridge configured to fire the staples. The staple pockets may be arranged in rows, each row of staple pockets being longitudinally offset from another row, such that each staple pocket in a first row of staple pockets is nested with a staple pocket from an adjacent row of staple pockets to make more efficient use of space on the anvil.

Description

CONFIGURATION OF ENVELOPE OF STAPLES FOR A SURGICAL ENRAPER.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a staple envelope. Specifically, the present invention relates to a configuration of staple envelopes for use in a surgical stapler.

CROSS REFERENCE RELATED TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Patent Provisional Application. No. 60 / 703,262 entitled "Envelope Configuration for Staples for Surgical Stapler" entered on July 27, 2005, which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety as a reference thereto.

BACKGROUND Surgical staplers typically employ an anvil that has staple envelopes defined therein. The staples are pushed out of the staple cartridge through a section of tissue and against the staple envelopes, the staple envelopes are suitably shaped to receive and progressively bend the legs of the staple to a closed position. Fig. 1 is a top view of a conventional staple envelope configuration on the anvil of a surgical stapler, i.e. the first configuration at the upper end of the knife slot and a second configuration at the lower end of the knife slot. Conventional staples for staples are typically rectangular in shape and can be arranged in parallel rows.

Fig. 2 a is a perspective from below a conventional configuration of staple envelopes in the anvil of a surgical stapler. This configuration of staple envelopes employs a steep-sided canyon wall near the barrel that changes at a shallow angle to rest the barrel wall. Fig. 2 b is a cross half section of a portion of the staple envelope illustrated in FIG. 2 a. fig. 2 b illustrates the leg of the staple being received within the envelope, ie, it moves in the vertical direction, and before the leg of the staple is bent to the closed position. The angle of 25.4 degrees shown in Figures 2 a and 2 b is the angle of a surface of the staple envelope relative to the plane of the surface of the anvil ie the angle of the slope of the surface together with the leg of the staple it slips when the staple leg is initially received within the staple envelope at a location approximately .005 inches from the longitudinal edge of the staple envelope.

Fig. 3 a is a perspective from below another conventional envelope configuration for stapling the anvil of a surgical stapler. The staple envelope configuration employs a steep canyon wall near the canyon floor that changes to a shallow configuration for resting on the cannon wall. Fig. 3 b is a cross-section through a portion of the staple envelope illustrated in FIG. 3 a. fig. 3 b illustrates the leg of the staple that is received within the staple envelope, moving in a vertical direction and before the leg of the staple is bent to the closed position. The 37.4 degree angle shown in Figures 3 a and 3 b is the angle of the staple envelope surface relative to the plane of the anvil surface, i.e. the angle of the slope of the surface over which the leg of the staple slides when the staple leg is initially received within the staple envelope at a location of .005 inches from the longitudinal edge of the staple envelope.

Fig. 4 is a top view of another portion of another conventional configuration of staple envelopes in the anvil of a surgical stapler. In this configuration, there are three longitudinal rows of staple envelopes located at each end of the knife slot. One problem that can be faced with conventional configurations of staple envelopes is that staple envelopes have very sharp internal corners that can contribute to Attach or stop the leg of the staple when the leg of the staple moves progressively through the staple envelope. Another problem that can be found in a conventional envelope configuration for surgical staples is that surgical staple envelopes can have a very shallow slope in a very large area so that the legs of the staple that come do not find an acute enough angle to slide causing the legs of the staples to stop or get stuck.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a staple envelope configuration on the anvil portion of a surgical stapler includes a pair of staple envelopes each corresponding to a plurality of staples to be closed. The pair of staple envelopes can be configured along a center line. The distal staple envelope can be provided to receive and close the further staple leg and the nearest staple envelope serves to receive and close the closest staple leg.

Staple envelopes can generally have a triangular shape when viewed from above. Each of the respective staple legs is received at the longitudinal end of the staple envelope that provides a relatively wide target area for receiving the leg of the staple to eliminate or minimize the likelihood that staple leg does not enter the envelope of the staple. staple due to a misalignment between the first jaw of the surgical stapler that has the anvil and the second jaw of the surgical stapler that has the cartridge configured to shoot the staples. In addition, each of the staple envelopes is narrower at the opposite end; that is, at the end where the leg of the staple leaves after being formed in an arc by the curved canyon floor of the staple envelope. The staple envelope 110 can provide barrel walls, i.e. along which the leg of the staple is guided and which is at an acute angle for the entire wall so that the leg of the staple travels towards and along from the center of the canyon and then up and out through the narrow end of the canyon. The barrel floor can be generally smooth and with a continuous curvature that provides, during the process of bending of the leg, enough radius of curvature to eliminate or minimize the very tight corners that can stop or jam the legs of the staple so that move along the surface.

Each staple envelope in the first row of staple envelopes can be nested with an envelope of staples from an adjacent row of staple envelopes. In this way, when each row of staple envelopes is longitudinally offset from the other row, ie approximately one half of a pair of envelopes (or staple) from center to center, the close envelope of staples of the first row, it nests or lies with the distal staple envelope of the second row. The staple envelope configuration may be more tolerant of staples that are not directed to the correct position, and may make better use of the anvil space and may be less likely to cause staple legs to collapse or bend .

BRIEF DECLARATION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 is a top view of a portion of a conventional staple envelope configuration on the anvil of a surgical stapler.

Fig. 2 a is a perspective from below of a conventional staple envelope configuration on the anvil of a surgical stapler.

Fig. 2 b is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the staple envelope illustrated in FIG. 2 a; Fig. 3 a is a perspective from below of another conventional configuration of staple envelopes in the anvil of a surgical stapler.

Fig. 3 b is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the staple envelope illustrated in FIG. 3 a.

Fig. 4 is a top view of a portion of another conventional configuration of a staple envelope of an anvil in a surgical stapler; Fig. 5 is a view of an envelope configuration for stapling the anvil of a surgical stapler according to an example of the inclusion of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of a portion of the staple envelope illustrated in FIG. 5; Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of a staple envelope portion illustrated in FIG. 5; Fig. 8 is a top view of an envelope configuration for staple in the anvil of a surgical stapler according to an inclusion example of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective from below of another example of envelope configuration for staple in the anvil of the surgical stapler according to an example of inclusion of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Fig. 5 is a top view of an envelope configuration for staples in the anvil of a surgical stapler according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, fig. 5 illustrates an anvil surface 100 that counts a first side 100 a and a second side 100 b separated by a knife slot. On each first side 100 a and on the second side 100 b of the surface of the anvil 100 two rows of envelope for staples 110 are defined. Referring to the first side 100 a of the surface of the anvil 100 a first row of staples for staples 110 counts with a central line 101 a and a second row of staples for staples 110 has a central line 101 b. for clarity purposes, only several staples for staple 110 have been shown. However, the surface of the anvil 100 may have a variety of staple envelopes 100 in each of the rows. In addition, although the example inclusions described herein include rows of staple envelopes that are configured adjacent to the knife slot, the example inclusions of the present invention can be used in connection with any type of surgical stapler, i.e. or without a knife slot or any other structural feature. The surface of the anvil 100 is configured with pairs of staples for staples 110 corresponding to each clamp that is closed. In fact, in reference to a pair of envelopes 110 configured along the center line 101 a, a distal envelope for staples is provided for receiving and closing a distal staple leg, and a proximal staple envelope for receiving and closing a staple. next leg of staple. The distal staple envelope 110 may be an identical image of the proximal envelope 110. The staple envelopes 110 may have various shapes. As illustrated in fig. 5, each staple envelope 110 can have a triangular shape when viewed from above. Alternatively, each staple envelope 110 may have a shape that when viewed from above resembles a bicycle seat, i.e., it is generally triangular with a series of convex and concave curves along its sides. Other forms can also be used.

Each respective leg is received at the longitudinal end of the staple envelope 110 which provides a relatively wide area of target to receive the staple leg. Since the staple envelope 110 is relatively wide at the longitudinal end where the leg of the staple is received, the staple envelope configuration can eliminate or at least minimize the likelihood that a staple leg does not enter into the staple leg. envelope for staple due to for example a misalignment between the first jaw of the surgical stapler that counts the anvil and in the second jaw of the surgical stapler that has the cartridge configured to shoot staples.

Each of the staple envelopes 110 is narrower on its opposite side, that is to say at the end where the leg of the staple leaves after being formed in an arc by the curved cannon of the staple envelope 110. The envelope for staple 110 provides a guide for the staple where the walls of the barrel along which the leg is guided meet at a sharp angle to the entire wall (eg, see Fig. 6), so that the leg the staple travels towards and along the center of the canyon and then up and out at the far and narrowest end of the canyon. The barrel floor has a generally smooth and curved surface that is provided for bending the legs of the staple as shown for example in FIG. 7. Alternatively or additionally, the floor of the barrel may have a changing radius. The surfaces of the staple envelopes are joined to one another with a radius large enough to eliminate or at least minimize the very sharp corners that can jam or prevent the legs of the staples from moving along the surface. further, the composite angle between the surfaces provides enough inclination to slide down the ramp for the legs to follow. The staples follow these ramps down into the barrel for proper bending or even formation when the staple is not well directed by the cartridge. Since the opposite side of the staple envelope 110 is relatively narrow, each staple envelope 110 in the first row of staple envelopes 110 can be nested with a staple envelope of an adjacent row of staple envelopes. Side row of staples for staples (and corresponding staples) can be longitudinally offset from another row ie approximately one half of the pair of envelopes (or staples) center to center. Thus, the nearest staple envelope of the first row is nested with a distal envelope of staples of the second row as shown in FIG. 5. In an example of inclusion, see for example fig. 8, a third row of staples for staples can be provided where the distal envelope of staples of the second row is also nested with the next staple envelope of the third row.

A series of pairs of staple envelopes is formed in the anvil of a surgical apparatus for stapling. The number of pairs of staple envelopes and their location depends on the desired pattern of staples. Typically, there are several rows of envelopes configured along, ie parallel with one another. For example, the sides of the staple envelope, i.e., those portions between the longitudinal internal and external ends, may be at a relative angle to the centerline of a row. In such a configuration, when the staple envelope in the first row of staple envelopes is nested with the staple envelope of the second row of staple envelopes, the adjacent sides of the staple envelopes may be generally parallel to one another.

The tissue section is clamped between the anvil and a cartridge loaded with staples. Each staple in the cartridge is generally aligned with a pair of corresponding staple envelopes. When firing, the staples are pushed out of the cartridge so that the legs of the staples penetrate a section of tissue and then proceed into the respective staple envelopes. The continuous operation of the staple firing mechanism causes the legs of the staples to be received within the wider end of staple envelope 110 and to slide along the curved valley of the pocket to bend or be formed in accordance with the curvature of the staple. envelope of staple. Eventually, the legs of each staple are bent completely so that the tissue section is clamped between the spine of the staple and the bent legs of the staple.

The staple envelope configuration can provide advantages over conventional staple envelope configurations of stapling surgical devices. For example, the staple envelope of the configuration herein provides a staple leg for capturing the area that is most tolerant for staples that are not properly launched ie, that can receive and effectively bend a staple leg that is It is slightly misaligned in relation to the center line of the staple envelope. This is because at least in part to the wide capture area located at the longitudinal external end of the staple envelopes and to the generally triangular shape of the staple envelopes. Thus, a feature of the staple envelopes thereof is the provision of a wide catch area at one end of the staple envelope, which allows the effective operation of a stapling surgical apparatus when the staple legs that arrive away from the center due to a reasonable amount of misalignment between the anvil and the staple cartridge. Another feature of the present is that sharp corners that tend to stop or jam the legs of the staples are eliminated or at least minimized. Another feature is that no matter where the staple leg is received through the broad spectrum of the envelope, there is sufficient slope of the slope or slip angle so that the leg of the stapler follows the curved shape of the envelope. The inclined side walls of the staple envelope function to guide the leg of the staple toward the center of the staple and the stop of the staple is then formed or bent, regardless of whether the staple reaches the center or is deflected. The rows of these envelopes are stacked along one another in close proximity .; when the phase is changed by approximately one half of the pair of envelopes. This nesting of the staple envelopes of the adjacent rows of staple envelopes allows each staple envelope to have a larger staple capture area and allows the adjacent rows of staple envelopes to be spaced closer together.

In summary, the configuration of the present can provide a relatively conventional configuration of staple envelopes, with a wider staple leg capture area, a tilting angle for steeper sliding to induce staple to begin to form, a shape that allows rows to be nested efficiently and a configuration where the radius of curvature of the staple envelopes is wider than the radius of the staple wire. Staple envelope configurations can eliminate or at least minimize sharp corners that tend to bend or jam staples. Thus, the staple envelope configuration can be more tolerant to staples that have not been fired correctly, make more efficient use of space on the anvil, and be less likely to cause a staple to jam or crush.

The staple envelope configuration of the present can be formed by various manufacturing methods. For example, the envelope configuration for staples can be formed as described in Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 703,493 entitled "System and Method for Forming Envelopes for Staples of a Surgical Stapler", entered on July 27, 2005 and in the Patent N ° Intitulada "System and Method to Form Envelopes for Staples of a Surgical Stapler ", entered on July 27, 2006, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Claims (38)

CLAIMS IT IS CLAIMED:

1. A surgical stapler for closing staples, each of the staples has a distal staple leg and a staple leg nearby, the apparatus includes: An anvil portion including at least two rows of staple envelopes, each of the at least two rows includes at least one pair of staple envelopes, each pair of staple envelopes includes an envelope for distal staple to receive and close the distal leg of the staple and a close staple envelope to receive and close the staple fence where the nearby staple leg in the first row of staple envelopes is nested with the staple envelope from the second row of envelopes for staples.

2. The surgical stapling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first of the distal and proximal staple envelopes of the first row is nested with a second distal and proximal staple envelope of the second row.

3. The surgical stapling apparatus of claim 2 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally offset from the staple envelopes of the second row.

The surgical stapling apparatus of claim 3 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally offset from the staple envelopes of the second row by a half of a center-to-center of a pair of staple envelopes.

The surgical stapler of claim 3 wherein each staple envelope of at least one pair of staple envelopes has a generally triangular shape when viewed from above.

6. The surgical stapler of claim 1 wherein each row of at least two rows of staple envelopes is configured along a center line.

The stapling surgical apparatus of claim 6 wherein each pair of staple envelopes, a first of a distal and proximal staple envelope, is an identical image of a second staple envelope envelope of staple envelope 8 next.

The surgical stapler of claim 1 wherein each of the staple envelopes, an outer longitudinal end of the staple envelope is wider than the longitudinal inner end of the staple envelope.

The surgical stapler of claim 8 wherein the outer longitudinal end of each staple envelope is configured to first receive a staple leg respectively.

The surgical stapler of claim 9 wherein each of the staple envelopes includes a curved barrel floor that forms a staple leg respectively in an arch when the leg of the arch is received and pushed into the curved floor of the barrel of the barrel. envelope for staple.

The surgical stapler of claim 10 wherein each staple envelope includes walls along which the leg of the staple is guided, the walls are at an acute angle.

The surgical stapler of claim 10 wherein the barrel floor generally has a smooth and continuous curvature.

The stapler of claim 12 wherein the floor of each staple envelope includes a radius of curvature to at least minimize sharp corners that can jam or prevent the legs of the staple from moving along the surface during the folding of each of the legs of the staple.

14. A stapling surgical apparatus for closing at least one staple having a staple stop and a proximal staple leg, the apparatus includes: An anvil portion having at least one pair of staple envelopes, at least one pair of staple envelopes including a distal staple envelope for receiving and closing a staple distal leg and a nearby staple envelope for receiving and closing at least the proximal leg of the staple, wherein each staple envelope of at least a pair of staple envelopes generally has a triangular shape when viewed from above.

15. The surgical stapling apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of at least one pair of staple envelopes, a staple envelope next is an identical image of a distal staple envelope.

16. The surgical stapler of claim 14 wherein each of the staple envelopes includes a curved barrel floor that forms a respective staple leg in an arch when the staple leg is received and pushed into the curved barrel of the staple envelope.

17. The surgical stapler of claim 14 wherein each staple envelope includes walls along each staple leg to be guided, the walls are at an acute angle.

18. The surgical stapler of claim 16 wherein the barrel floor generally has a continuous and smooth curvature.

The stapler of claim 18 wherein the floor of each stapler envelope includes a radius of curvature that at least minimizes sharp corners that can jam or prevent the legs of the staple from moving along the curvature during the folding of each of the legs of the staple.

The surgical stapler of claim 14 wherein the anvil portion includes at least two rows of staple envelopes, each of at least the two rows including at least one pair of staple envelopes, wherein the staple Staple envelope of the first row of staple envelopes is nested with a staple envelope of a second row of staple envelopes.

The stapler of claim 20 wherein a first of a distal and proximal staple envelope of a first row is nested with a second of a distal and proximal staple envelope of a second row.

22. The surgical stapler of claim 21 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally offset from the staple envelopes of the second row.

23. The surgical apparatus of claim 22 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally offset from the staple envelopes of the second row by a half of a center of a pair of staple envelopes.

24. The stapler of claim 14 wherein for each of the staple envelopes a longitudinal external end of the staple envelope is wider than a longitudinal internal end of the staple envelope.

25. The surgical stapler of claim 24 wherein the longitudinal outer end of each of the envelopes is configured to receive each of the respective legs.

26. The stapler of claim 20 wherein each row of at least two rows of staple envelopes is configured along a centerline.

27. The stapler of claim 20 wherein the sides of the staple envelopes between the longitudinal internal and external ends are at a relative angle to the center line.

The surgical stapler of claim 27 wherein when the staple envelope in the first row of staple envelopes is nested with the staple envelope of a second row of staple envelopes, the adjacent sides of the staple envelopes are generally They are parallel to each other.

29. An anvil that includes at least two rows of staple envelopes where at least two rows each and a pair of staple envelopes, each pair of staple envelopes includes one envelope of distal staples and one envelope of staples. next staples, wherein the staple envelope of the first row of staple envelopes is nested with a staple envelope of the second row of staple envelopes.

30. The anvil of claim 29 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally offset from the staple envelopes of the second row.

The anvil of claim 29 wherein each staple envelope of at least one pair of staple envelopes generally has a triangular shape when viewed from above.

32. The anvil of claim 31 wherein each pair of staple envelopes, a distal staple envelope is identical to a nearby staple envelope.

33. the envelope of claim 29 wherein each of the staple envelopes includes a curved floor that generally has a smooth, continuous curvature that includes a radius of curvature that at least minimizes sharp corners.

34. The anvil of claim 23 wherein each staple envelope includes walls that are at a steep angle.

35. The anvil that includes at least a couple of staple envelopes, wherein at least one pair of staple envelopes includes a distal staple envelope and a nearby or proximal staple envelope, wherein each staple envelope of at least one pair of staple envelopes has a generally triangular shape when It is seen from above.

36. The anvil of claim 35 wherein each of at least one pair of staple envelopes, a nearby staple envelope is identical to a distal staple envelope.

37. The anvil of claim 35 wherein each of the staple envelopes includes a curved canyon floor and walls, the walls are at a steep angle.

38. The anvil of claim 37 wherein the floor generally has two rows of staple envelopes, each of at least the two rows includes a pair of staple envelopes at least, wherein the envelope for staple in the staple The first row of staple envelopes is nested with a staple envelope of a second row of staple envelopes. The anvil of claim 39 wherein the staple envelopes of the first row are longitudinally deviated from the staple envelopes of the second row. The staple envelope of claim 39 wherein for each of the staple envelopes, an outer longitudinal end of the staple envelope of the second row. The anvil of claim 35 wherein for each of the staple envelopes, a longitudinal external end of the staple envelope is wider than the internal longitudinal end of the staple envelope. The anvil of claim 41 wherein each row of at least two rows of staple envelopes is configured along a center line. The anvil of claim 42 wherein the sides of the staple envelope between the longitudinal internal and external ends are at a relative angle to the center line. The anvil of claim 43 wherein, when the envelope of staples in the first row of staple envelopes is nested with the staple envelope of the second row of staple envelopes, the adjacent sides of the staple envelopes are generally parallel One with another.