Disclosed is a four-jawed combinational scissor-grasper surgical tool for use in laparoscopy, Cutting and grasping functionalities are respectively enabled via movement of a pair of such specially contoured jaw members sliding against or splaying apart from the other pair. Also disclosed are means for achieving selectable interlocking of jaw members and mechanical linkage for their actuation by human user.

The disclosure provides various embodiments of catheters having articulable ends that can be used for various procedures. Embodiments of methods are also provided that can be performed with catheters in accordance with the present disclosure.

A surgical device includes gripping sleeves that can be secured to jaws of the surgical device to allow the device to function as a grasper. The gripping sleeves include nonslip surfaces which are brought into juxtaposed alignment with each other when the surgical device is moved from an open position to a clamped position to clamp tissue between the nonslip surfaces of the gripping sleeves.

A surgical grasper includes jaws that are transitionable between spaced apart and approximated configurations. In particular, the surgical grasper defines an unobstructed lumen for passage of a surgical instrument therethrough.

A tool has a handle and an elongate shaft that extends distally from the handle. A distal portion of the shaft is inserted into a subject during a surgical procedure. An optical fiber delivers laser energy to a tip at the distal portion of the shaft. The tip includes a mechanical cutting mechanism including a moving part that absorbs the laser energy, thermally conducts the absorbed energy to tissue that is disposed between the moving part and another part, and moves with respect to the other part in order to cut tissue that is disposed between the parts using a mechanical force that is lower than a mechanical force that would be required to cut the tissue in the absence of the laser energy. Other embodiments are also described.

Described herein is a simplified placement system and method for a tissue graft anchor by which a surgeon may introduce one or more sutures into a hole in a boney tissue, apply tension to the sutures to advance a soft tissue graft to a desired location, and then advance the anchor into the bone while maintaining suture tension and without introducing spin to the suture.

An end effector assembly for a surgical instrument includes first and second jaw members, each including a jaw frame, spacer, electrically-conductive plate, and outer housing. The jaw frame includes at least one proximal flange and a distal jaw support extending distally therefrom. The spacer defines a body and a wing disposed on either side of the body. The body defines a channel configured to receive the distal jaw support while each wing defines a slot. The plate defines a tissue-contacting portion and first and second legs extending perpendicularly from the tissue-contacting portion. The tissue-contacting portion is configured to sit atop the body of the spacer. Each of the legs is configured for receipt within the slot defined within one of the wings. The outer housing at least partially surrounds the distal jaw support, spacer, and legs and is configured to retain these components in position relative to one another.

Methods and surgical tools for treating back pain use a spinal facet debridement tool with cautery and denuding action and minimally invasive protocol that can denude and cauterize soft tissue associated with a synovial capsule of the spinal facet joint.

A myringotomy device includes a housing; an elongated tube extending from the housing; and a retractable cutting tool extendable through the elongated tube, the cutting tool comprising a blade. The cutting tool is configured such that when advanced, the blade of the cutting tool extends beyond a distal end of the elongated tube. The cutting tool is also configured such that when retracted, the blade is retracted into the elongated tube and a fluid conduit is created from the distal end of the elongated tube to the housing.

A device may include a sheath including a lumen, a distal end, and a proximal end. The device may further include an end-effector unit and an elongate member connected to the end-effector unit. The end-effector unit and the sheath may be movable relative to each other to achieve a first state of the end-effector unit and a second state of the end-effector unit. Moreover, the medical device may include a handle having a first handle portion connected to the proximal end of the sheath, a second handle portion connected to the proximal end of the elongate member, and a compliant member longitudinally aligned with the sheath between the first handle portion and the second handle portion. The first and second handle portions may be configured such that relative movement of the first and second handle portions causes the end-effector to move between the first and second states.