Surgical instrument for staple suturing of hollow organs

Claim 2

In a surgical instrument for staple suturing hollow organs including a staple body and a supporting body hingedly connected thereto at a hinge joint, said bodies having outer surfaces and longitudinally extending jaws having respective compressing inner side surfaces adpated to be brought to mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure, said staple body having a staple magazine and ejector means for feeding the staples from said magazine during a suturing procedure in the region of the staple body jaw, said supporting body having die means for bending the staples fed from the magazine during the suturing procedure in the region of the supporting body jaw; the improvement comprising: at least one of said staple and supporting bodies are formed to define a recess between said bodies in a bottom region of said side surface of at least one of said jaws proximate to said hinge joint, said recess defining an enlarged free space between said jaws when the same are in mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure and so that compression will not be applied to the regions of the organs to be sutured which are situated within said free space during a suturing procedure; a pair of spacers formed of springy elastic material adapted to be mounted and secured to respective jaws over the respective compression side surfaces thereof so as to be stitched up together with the organs to be sutured during a suturing procedure; and means for releasing said spacers from said respective jaws after termination of the suturing procedure.

Claim 3

In a surgical instrument for staple suturing hollow organs including a staple body and a supporting body hingedly connected thereto at a hinge joint, said bodies having outer surfaces and longitudinally extending jaws having respective compressing inner side surfaces adapted to be brought to mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure, said staple body having a staple magazine and ejector means for feeding the staples from said magazine during a suturing procedure in the region of the staple body jaw, said supporting body having die means for bending the staples fed from the magazine during the suturing procedure in the region of the supporting body jaw; the improvement comprising: at least one of said staple and supporting bodies are formed to define a recess between said bodies in a bottom region of said side surface of at least one of said jaws proximate to said hinge joint, said recess defining a free space between said jaws when the same are in mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure; a pair of spacers formed of springy elastic material adapted to be mounted and secured to respective jaws over the respective compressing side surfaces thereof so as to be stitched up together with the organs to be sutured during a suturing procedure; and means for releasing said spacers from said respective jaws after termination of the suturing procedure; and wherein each spacer is constituted by an elongate member having two ends and wherein a slot is formed on an outer surface of each of said staple and supporting bodies in the region of said recess, one end of each spacer being received in a respective one of said slots and wherein the other end of each spacer is secured to a free end of a respective jaw, and wherein said spacer releasing means include a knife member movably mounted to an outer surface of each of said staple and supporting bodies adapted to move between a retracted position and a position wherein it severs that portion of a spacer which is received in the respective slot on termination of the suturing procedure so as to release the spacers from the jaws.

Claim 4

In a surgical instrument for staple suturing hollow organs including a staple body and a supporting body hingedly connected thereto at a hinge joint, said bodies having outer surfaces and longitudinally extending jaws having respective compressing inner side surfaces adapted to be brought to mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure, said staple body having a staple magazine and ejector means for feeding the staples from said magazine during a suturing procedure in the region of the staple body jaw, said supporting body having die means for bending the staples fed from the magazine during the suturing procedure in the region of the supporting body jaw; the improvement comprising: at least one of said staple and supporting bodies are formed to define a recess between said bodies in a bottom region of said side surface of at least one of said jaws proximate to said hinge joint, said recess defining a free space between said jaws when the same are in mutual contiguous relationship with each other during a suturing procedure; a pair of spacers formed of springy elastic material adapted to be mounted and secured to respective jaws over the respective compressing side surfaces thereof so as to be stitched up together with the organs to be sutured during a suturing procedure; and means for releasing said spacers from said respective jaws after termination of the suturing procedure; and wherein each spacer is constituted by an elongate member having two ends and wherein a slot is formed on an outer surface of each of said staple and supporting bodies in the region of said recess, one end of each spacer being received in a respective one of said slots and wherein the other end of each spacer is secured to a free end of a respective jaw, and wherein said spacer releasing means include a knife member movably mounted to an outer surface of each of said staple and supporting bodies adapted to move between a retracted position and a position wherein it severs that portion of a spacer which is received in the respective slot on termination of the suturing procedure so as to release the spacers from the jaws.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 2 wherein each of said spacers comprises a flat strip portion formed of springy elastic material having substantially the same width as the respective jaw to which it is secured, a strap portion integrally formed on one end of said flat strip portion adapted to be received in a repective one of said slots, and a cup-shaped portion integrally formed on the other end of said flat strip portion adapted to be fitted over the free end of the respective jaw to which the spacer is secured.