An end effector assembly for a surgical instrument includes first and second jaw members each including a jaw housing, an electrically-conductive tissue-treatment plate, and a longitudinally-extending channel. The first and/or second jaw member is movable relative to the other between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position. A cutting mechanism is disposed at least partially within the second jaw member. The cutting mechanism may include an inflatable bladder, a fluid line coupled to the inflatable bladder, and a knife coupled to the inflatable bladder. The cutting mechanism may alternatively include a fluid line, a knife, and a sealing member that defines a variable-volume sealed chamber within the longitudinally-extending channel of the second jaw member. The cutting mechanism may alternatively include at least one electromagnet, at least one electrical wire coupled to the at least one electromagnet, and a knife operably coupled to the at least one electromagnet.

Electrosurgical systems generally include at least one energy-delivery device for delivering energy to tissue when inserted or embedded within tissue. The energy-delivery device can be a tissue ablation device, such as an ablation probe, needle, etc. for ablating tissue as commonly known in the art. The electrosurgical systems include at least one structure and/or operational characteristic for enhancing ultrasonic visibility of the energy-delivery devices within tissue during ultrasonography.

An implantable hydraulic displacement actuator comprising a biocompatible hydraulic displacement fluid for providing a force inside a human or animal body, wherein said hydraulic displacement actuator preferably is a linear hydraulic actuator for generating a cardiac movement.

A cryotherapy catheter can include an elongate member and an inflatable balloon at a distal end of the elongate member, the elongate member having lumens formed therein to supply cryogenic fluid to a chamber of the balloon and to channel exhaust from the balloon chamber; and a controller programmed to control a first rate at which the cryogenic fluid is supplied to the balloon chamber and a second rate at which exhaust is channeled from the balloon chamber, wherein the controller is programmed to a) develop, during a first phase of a cryotherapy procedure, a first pressure inside the balloon chamber at a value that is greater than an ambient pressure outside and adjacent to a proximal end of the elongate member, and b) develop, during a second phase of the cryotherapy procedure, the first pressure at a value that is less than the ambient pressure.

A surgical instrument includes a body, a shaft assembly, and an end effector. The end effector a first jaw, a second jaw, and a staple cartridge. The first jaw has an anvil that is configured to form a plurality of staples. The first jaw is movable relative to the second jaw from an open configuration toward a closed configuration for capturing the tissue therebetween and forming the staples therein. The staple cartridge includes a plurality of staples, a body, and a deck. The body is received by the second jaw. The deck has a plurality of staple pockets such that the plurality of staples are configured to pass through staple pockets. The deck is configured to selectively move relative to the body from a first position to a second position for adjusting a height of the deck relative to the anvil while the body is received in the second jaw.

A surgical instrument includes a body assembly, a shaft assembly, and an end effector. The end effector has first and second jaws that are configured to receive a tissue therebetween. The end effector also includes a staple cartridge including a plurality of staples and a hydraulic expandable member that is configured to receive a fluid and thereby expand from a contracted state to an expanded state. The hydraulic expandable member is further configured to direct at least one of the plurality of staples toward an anvil of the first jaw for forcing the at least one of the staples against the anvil and forming the at least one of the staples within the tissue.

A transmission system (10) includes a first piston (12), a second piston (14) and a modulator piston (16). The first piston (12) receives an input force (F.sub.IN), the second piston (14) transmits an output force (F.sub.OUT), and the modulator piston (16) transmits a modulating force (F.sub.ACT>which modulates the input force (F.sub.IN) received by the second piston (14) to implement tremor cancellation and force and/or provide variable motion scaling.

Several methods to reduce surgical site infections include inserting a surgical access device into an incision, retracting tissue, and introducing fluid into the surgical access device such that the fluid exits the surgical access device and irrigates a surgical site. Other methods do not include introducing fluid into a surgical access device but include suctioning a fluid into the surgical access device and removing the fluid from the body.

Systems, apparatus and methods are disclosed for medical treatment comprising bone access and dilatation and/or cavity creation or enlargement using a narrow gauge, preferably 11-gauge or smaller, cannula wherein a catheter/expandable element assembly meeting medical protocols for such procedures is designed, adapted and fabricated to fit through the interior of the associated 11-gauge or smaller cannula, and further including apparatus and methods for wrapping and/or folding the expandable element either before or after a procedure to reduce its profile to fit through the cannula.

A surgical device includes one or more cameras integrated therein. The view of each of the one or more cameras can be integrated together and provided to a surgeon display and/or an assistant display. A surgical tool that includes an integrated camera may be used in conjunction with the surgical device. The image produced by the camera integrated with the surgical tool may be associated with the images generated by the one or more cameras integrated in the surgical device. The position and orientation of the cameras and/or the surgical tool can be tracked, and the surgical tool can be rendered as at least partially transparent. A surgical device may be powered by a hydraulic system, thereby reducing electromagnetic interference with tracking devices.