An implant injection system that facilitates the introduction of a bone implant material into the cancellous bone portion of a patient's bone to serve as an anchor or to fill a void in the bone. The implant injection system and method provide a quantity of meltable material which is melted in situ so that the melted material can flow and diffuse into, and be anchored to, the cancellous bone portion beneath the cortical bone layer. The flowing of the bone implant material can be accomplished by an electrical resistance heater or other heater located at the distal end of the implant injection system. The implant material may be provided in multiple layers with an inner layer having a lower flowing temperature than the outer layers. There can also be a looped suture that passes though the meltable material, with the free ends of the suture extending outwardly to be tied to soft tissue to affix the soft tissue to the bone.

A surgical instrument is provided including a handle portion and a body portion extending distally from the handle portion and defining a longitudinal axis. The surgical instrument also includes an end effector assembly disposed at a distal end of the body portion, the end effector assembly including an electromagnetic manipulator in cooperation with an ultraviolet (UV) light source for performing tacking of an implant. In an alternative embodiment, the end effector assembly includes an electromagnetic manipulator in cooperation with at least one tack for performing tacking of an implant. The implant may be a mesh having a ferromagnetic coating activated by the electromagnetic manipulator. The tissue may have a UV coating activated by UV light applied by the UV light source.

Surgical methods involving cutting and sealing tissue include affixing a first adjunct material to tissue at a treatment site, such as by stapling the adjunct to tissue. A second adjunct material is applied to at least a portion of the first adjunct material such that the second adjunct material interacts with the first adjunct material to form a seal in an area of the tissue covered by at least one of the first and the second adjunct material. The resulting tissue sealing structure, which includes a combination of the two adjuncts, is believed to be superior to the sealing properties of either adjunct alone.

System and methods of delivering adhesive material are described for occluding target locations within a patient. The systems include a catheter configured to deliver adhesive to a target location and one or more of a light source to harden the adhesive, a retention structure to contain the adhesive prior to curing, a balloon to occupy a target location, and an open cell foam plug to occupy a target location.

A piece of buttress material and an end-effector of a surgical instrument including features which can aid a surgeon in properly and quickly attaching the piece of buttress material to the end-effector. In various embodiments, a piece of buttress material can include retention features which can be engaged with portions of an end-effector to releasably retain the piece of buttress material to at least a portion of the end-effector. Similarly, an end-effector can include features configured to engage portions of a piece of buttress material to releasably retain the piece of buttress material to the end-effector. In at least one embodiment, more than one piece of buttress material can be releasably retained to an end-effector.

Medical implant which at least partially comprises a biocompatible, electrically conductive polymer with electrical resistivity p, having the property of being able to be heated and softened by a flow of current through the polymer.

A liquid applicator (1) for holding and discharging a curable liquid composition, comprises a receiver body (2) for holding a curable liquid composition, a discharge tip (20;30;40) having a longitudinal axis and further having a distal end remote from the receiver body (2) from which the liquid composition is discharged, and a discharge mechanism (5) for transferring liquid composition held by the applicator (1) to the tip (20;30;40) for discharge of the composition. The tip (20;30;40) comprises an outlet section (21d;31d;44d) having at least one groove formation (26;38;48) extending along the tip (20;30;40) to the distal end thereof. The applicator may be a surgical adhesive applicator.

A surgical instrument comprising a loading unit and an end effector is disclosed. The end effector comprises a first jaw, a second jaw, an anvil, a staple cartridge, a firing member, a first adjunct, a second adjunct, a first pair of restraint members, and a second pair of restraint members. The staple cartridge comprises a staple cartridge deck, staple cavities, staples, and staple drivers. The staple cartridge deck comprises a stepped profile. The first adjunct comprises a strain relief portion. The second adjunct comprises a strain relief portion configured to extend over the staple cartridge deck and a stepped profile that is fitted to the stepped profile of the staple cartridge deck. The first pair of restraint members are configured to releasably attach the first adjunct to the anvil. The second pair of restraint members are configured to releasably attach the second adjunct to the staple cartridge.

Methods and apparatus are provided to facilitate the minimally invasive removal of tissue and to facilitate the direct approach to anesthetizing a body wall of a patient. A pull-type cutting device also is disclosed to introduce an opening into the body wall to provide access for intra-chest surgical interventions, for example a minimally invasive biopsy technique as also described for excising target tissue from within a patient, including a nodule from within the patient's lung.

An assembly for joining tissue portions is provided and includes an anvil assembly and a body portion juxtaposed with respect to one another along a shaft and arranged so as to be approximated with respect to one another; and an applicator disposed between the body portion and anvil assembly and configured for retaining a wound treatment material therein. The applicator has channels arranged for dispensing the wound treatment material therefrom onto an interface between the tissue portions. A method of joining the tissue portions is also provided and includes the steps of dispensing the wound treatment material from the applicator so as to distribute wound treatment material onto an interface between a first tissue portion and a second tissue portion; and approximating the anvil assembly and the body portion to one another so that the first and second tissue portions are in contact with one another.