Surgical instrument having staple head adapted for rib insertion

Claim 1

A surgical instrument for applying one or more surgical fasteners to tissue, comprising: an articulatable fastener applying assembly including a proximal moveable jaw, said proximal moveable jaw including fastener holding means including a reloadable fastener cartridge for holding one or more surgical fasteners, means for driving said surgical fasteners into the tissue, a distal jaw including anvil means for forming said surgical fasteners about the tissue, means for capturing and clamping said tissue prior to forming said fasteners and for releasing said tissue after forming said fasteners; a shaft assembly for articulatably mounting to the distal end thereof said fastener applying assembly; an actuator handle assembly mounted to the proximal end of said shaft assembly and including means for actuating said means for driving said surgical fasteners wherein said fastener applying assembly includes pulley means for reversing direction of a pull cable, said pull cable having two ends, said pull cable being anchored at one end to said fastener holding means and at its other end to actuator means of said actuator handle assembly, whereby as said actuator means is acted upon by a pulling motion, said pull cable translates said pulling motion of said actuator means into distal motion of said fastener holding means, thereby moving said proximal moveable jaw distally toward said distal jaw; said fastener applying assembly sized and contoured for insertion between human ribs without spreading said ribs.