A surgical instrument for cutting and grasping tissue comprising a handle assembly, an elongated member and first and second jaws. A first movable member moves the second jaw in a first direction about a first pivot axis in a grasping action and a second movable member moves the second jaw in a second direction different than the first direction and about a second pivot axis in a cutting action. A switch is positioned at the proximal portion of the instrument and a selecting member is actuated by movement of the switch, the selecting member movable between a first position to enable movement of the second jaw in the first direction and prohibit movement in the second direction and a second position to enable movement of the second jaw in the second direction and prohibit movement in the first direction.

A disposable surgical instrument includes an instrument grip forming a receiving housing. A separate handle is mounted in the instrument grip in the manner of a rocker. A shaft tool includes a shaft having at least two relatively axially movable bar or rod components and an instrument head having patient engagement elements which can be actuated by the bar or rod components, of which one bar or rod component is fixed at the proximal end thereof to the instrument grip and the other bar or rod component has an articulation point on which the handle is directly articulated in such way that a manually actuated rocker movement of the handle about the articulation point on the handle side is transformed directly into an axial movement of the other bar or rod component on the articulation point on the shaft side.

A device for severing and removing tissue parts (20), from a body of a living being, by means of a fixed guide rail (1, 30) along which a slide rail (6, 31) is movable, wherein the guide rail (1, 30) and the slide rail (6, 31) form, in the distal region, a cutting or punching mouth (17, 32) for severing the tissue part (20), wherein a conduit (18) for supplying a liquid is assigned to the cutting or punching mouth (17).

Arthroscopic cutters are used for resecting tissues, such as meniscal tissues, in meniscectomies or other arthroscopic procedures. The arthroscopic cutters have a shaft assembly with openable-closeable jaws at a working end of the shaft. A handpiece having a motor drive may be detachably coupled to a hub on a hub end of the handpiece. When the shaft is coupled to the handpiece, the motor drive will couple to the jaw structure to open and close the jaw structure to cut meniscal and other tissues.

Devices and methods for creating holes in the articular process of the vertebra are provided. One embodiment of the invention comprises a drill head comprising a frame, punch arm with punch tip and opposing plate. Methods of using the resulting holes to anchor or stabilize facet joint prosthesis, and also altering the spacing and motion at the facet joints of the vertebral column, are provided.

A medical sliding-shaft instrument having a first handle arm, a second handle arm pivotably mounted to the first handle arm, a shaft connected to the first handle arm and a slider coupleable to the second handle arm and axially displaceable on the shaft. The slider is removable from the shaft and is guided along a sliding path. A cross-pin couples the second handle arm to the slider and is received in a slot defined by first and second legs of the second handle arm. The first leg is a resilient tongue moveable transversely to a longitudinal axis of the first leg and outwardly away from the second leg. The second handle arm is positioned so that the cross pin lies in the slot. The cross pin is covered and held back by the first leg and is released by applying a force and displacing the end of the first leg.

A surgical rongeur includes a lower shaft that defines a floor including a trap door, the lower shaft terminates in a static footplate. An upper shaft is slidably coupled to a top surface of the lower shaft, the upper shaft terminates in a cutting blade. An elongated member is slidably coupled along the floor of the lower shaft and terminates in a sliding footplate. A primary trigger is coupled to the upper shaft, where actuation of the primary trigger is configured to alternately move the cutting blade between an open position and a closed position. A secondary trigger is coupled to the elongated member, where actuation of the secondary trigger, while the cutting blade is in the closed position, is configured to retract the sliding footplate from the static footplate into one of a plurality of positions.

Methods and apparatuses for performing an orthopedic procedure in the sacroiliac region are disclosed. In one form, an aperture is formed that at least partially extends through at least one of an ilium and a sacrum. An undercutting system is inserted into the aperture. The undercutting system may include an insertion apparatus, a probe assembly, and a cutting assembly. The probe assembly is moved with respect to the insertion apparatus from a retracted position to an extended position. The probe assembly is manipulated within a joint between the ilium and the sacrum while the probe assembly is in the extended position. The cutting assembly is moved with respect to the insertion apparatus from a retracted position to an extended position. The cutting assembly is manipulated within the joint between the ilium and the sacrum while the cutting assembly is in the extended position to form a fusion region.

Disclosed is a method of unilateral biportal endoscopy and a surgical instrument set used in the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of unilateral biportal endoscopy which separately secures a working portal for surgical instruments and an endoscopic portal for an endoscope, thereby providing a more accurate spinal surgery, and to a surgical instrument set which can be effectively applied to the method.

A tissue treatment device has a shaft assembly including an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve. The inner sleeve is co-axially and rotatably received in an axial passageway in the outer sleeve. A dielectric housing has an outer cutting window forming a distal portion of the outer sleeve, and a distal portion of the inner sleeve forms an RF electrode and has an inner cutting window formed therein. The outer and inner cutting windows have outer and inner cutting edges disposed to close together as the inner sleeve is rotated relative to the outer sleeve.