A medical stapler system according to the present invention is equipped with a medical stapler and a staple that closes tissue. The medical stapler is equipped with: a first grasper and a second grasper that have a longitudinal axis and that graspe the tissue therebetween when in a closed state; a holder that retains the staple; a housing body that houses the holder while a needle of the staple projects from a first contact surface of the first grasper; and a drive mechanism that slides the holder along the longitudinal axis. The second grasper has a second contact surface that graspes the tissue between the first contact surface and the second contact surface, a recessed portion that houses the needle without causing penetration or deformation when a closed state, and an anvil against which the needle is pushed and deformed when the closed state.

A surgical instrument comprising a shaft and a distal head extending from the shaft is disclosed. The distal head comprises a tissue drive configured to engage the tissue of a patient and move the distal head relative to the patient tissue. The tissue drive comprises, among other things, a tiltable or pivotable portion which adapts to changes in tissue thickness.

A surgical stapling system for stapling the tissue of a patient is disclosed. The stapling system comprises a housing, a shaft extending from the housing, and an end effector extending from the shaft. The end effector comprises a plurality of staples removably stored therein and, also, an anvil configured to deform the staples. The stapling system further comprises a firing mechanism configured to deploy the staples along a staple firing path longer than 60 mm, a camera configured to capture an image of the patient tissue, a display, and a controller configured to generate an image of the staple firing path, wherein the images are displayed on the display.

A surgical instrument for treating the tissue of a patient is disclosed. The surgical instrument comprises a housing including a handle, a housing frame comprising a housing connector, and a drive system comprising at least one electric motor. The surgical instrument further comprises a shaft assembly releasably assembled to the housing including a shaft frame comprising a proximal connector and a distal connector, wherein the proximal connector is releasably coupled to the housing connector and a shaft drive system comprising at least one rotatable shaft operably coupled to the electric motor. The surgical instrument further comprises an end effector releasably assembled to the shaft assembly including an end effector frame comprising an end effector connector releasably coupled to the distal connector of the shaft assembly, a plurality of staple cartridges removably stored in the end effector, and a plurality of end effector drivers operably coupled to the rotatable shaft.

A surgical stapler for stapling the tissue of a patient is disclosed. The surgical stapler comprises a handle, a shaft extending from the handle, and an end effector extending from the shaft, wherein the end effector comprises a plurality of staples and an anvil configured to deform the staples. The surgical stapler further comprises a firing mechanism configured to deploy the staples, a sensor configured to detect a target, a controller configured to calculate the firing path based on the target, and a motorized drive system configured to move the end effector toward the target along the firing path.

A surgical instrument comprising a shaft, a distal head, and an articulation joint rotatably connecting the distal head to the shaft is disclosed.

A surgical stapler comprising stored or storable staple cartridges is disclosed. The staple cartridges can have different unfired sizes. In at least one instance, a first stored staple cartridge comprises first staples having a first unfired height and a second stored staple cartridge comprises second staples having a second unfired height which is different than the first unfired height.

A surgical stapler for stapling the tissue of a patient is disclosed. The surgical stapler comprises a handle, a shaft extending from the handle, a plurality of staple cartridges, and an end effector comprising a tissue compression surface and an anvil comprising staple forming pockets, wherein the anvil is movable toward the tissue compression surface during a closing motion. The surgical stapler further comprises an anvil closing system configured to move the anvil through the closing motion, a staple firing system configured to deploy the staple cartridges along a path, and means for gripping the patient tissue and creating relative movement between the end effector and the patient tissue to re-position the end effector along the path.

A surgical instrument for treating the stomach tissue of a patient is disclosed. The surgical instrument comprises a handle comprising a display, a shaft extending from the handle, and an end effector extending from said shaft. The surgical system comprises a tissue treatment system configured to treat the stomach tissue along a path, an imaging system configured to capture a tissue image of the stomach tissue, and a controller configured to determine an edge of the stomach tissue, generate an image representing at least a portion of the edge of the stomach tissue, and display the image along with at least a portion of the tissue image on the display.

A surgical stapler for stapling the tissue of a patient, comprising: is disclosed. The surgical stapler comprises a handle comprising a display, a shaft extending from the handle, and an end effector extending from the shaft, wherein the end effector comprises a group of staples and an anvil configured to deform the staples. The surgical stapler further comprises a firing system configured to deploy the staples along a firing path, a vision system configured to capture a tissue image of the patient tissue, and a controller configured to generate an image overlay representing the firing path and to display the image overlay over the tissue image on the display.