A surgical instrument that includes a first jaw that has a pair of laterally aligned vertical slots formed in a proximal end portion thereof. Each vertical slot includes an open upper end. A second jaw is movably supported for selective pivotal travel relative to the first jaw between a fully open and a fully closed position. Pivot members protrude laterally from the second jaw and are each received in a corresponding one of the vertical slots in the first jaw such that the pivot members may pivot therein. A retainer member is configured to operably engage the proximal end portion of the first jaw and retain the pivot members in the corresponding vertical slots as the second jaw moves between the fully open and the fully closed positions.

Surgical instrument is provided. The surgical instrument is capable of being operated manually or automatically for use in laparoscopic surgery or various surgeries and includes a locking device capable of locking and/or unlocking at least one operation.

A surgical stapler, or fastening instrument, may generally comprise a layer, such as a tissue thickness compensator, for example, releasably attached to a fastener cartridge and/or anvil by a flowable attachment portion. The flowable attachment portion may be indefinitely flowable. The flowable attachment portion may be flowable from the time that layer is installed to the fastener cartridge to the time in which the layer is implanted to patient tissue. The flowable attachment portion may comprise a pressure sensitive adhesive. The flowable attachment portion may comprise an adhesive laminate comprising a base layer comprising the tissue thickness compensator and an adhesive layer on at least a portion of a surface of the base layer comprising the pressure sensitive adhesive. Articles of manufacture comprising flowable attachment portion and methods of making and using the flowable attachment portion are also described.

A surgical system comprising a surgical instrument attachment assembly and a transmission assembly is disclosed. The surgical instrument attachment assembly comprises a shaft and an end effector. The transmission assembly is configured to be operably attached to and detached from a surgical robot, wherein the surgical instrument attachment assembly is configured to be operably attached to and detached from the transmission assembly. The transmission assembly comprises a drive system comprising a drive member movable in a first direction during a drive stroke and a second direction during a return stroke. The transmission assembly further comprises a manually-operated bailout configured to selectively move the drive member in the first and second directions when the transmission assembly is attached to the surgical robot.

A surgical instrument comprising an articulatable end effector that is attached to an elongate shaft at an articulation joint. The end effector comprises a first jaw and a second jaw that is movably supported relative to the first jaw between an open position and a closed position. The instrument also includes a rotary closure shaft that operably interfaces with a closure assembly located distal to the articulation joint. The closure assembly interfaces with the second jaw and is configured to move axially in response to rotary closure motions applied thereto by the rotary closure shaft. Axial movement of the closure assembly results in an application of pivotal closure motions to the second jaw to move the second jaw between the open position and the closed position.

A forceps including a gripping assembly. The gripping assembly includes an upper jaw and a lower jaw. The upper jaw includes a proximal end and a distal end. The upper jaw includes an upper tooth having an upper proximally facing canted tooth surface and an upper distally facing canted tooth surface. The lower jaw includes a proximal end and a distal end. The lower jaw includes a socket having a lower distally facing canted socket surface and a lower proximally facing socket surface. The upper jaw, the lower jaw, or both are moveable so that the gripping assembly moves between an open position and a gripping position. In the gripping position, a gap is defined between the upper distally facing canted tooth surface and the lower proximally facing socket surface.

A force transmission mechanism includes a force adjuster that receives a driving force and that is configured to change a force transmission efficiency, and also includes a driving member that is configured to connect an end effector and the force adjuster via a joint section and transmit the driving force. The force adjuster converts the driving force into a linear force via a rotational force, and increases the conversion efficiency from the driving force to the linear force such that an amount of increase in the force transmission efficiency increases with increasing displacement amount of the driving member when the driving member is displaced in accordance with flexing or curving of the joint section.

Developed is a tissue joining device for endoscopic surgery, which can be used in NOTES, or the like. As a result of intensive studies carried out to solve the problem described above, the inventors of the present invention have conceived of two tissue joining device having quite novel structures and completed the present invention.

A device is disclosed that can pierce and hold tissue and then pass suture through tissue. The device can have a shuttle that can removably attach to a suture and jaws that can be opened and closed. A method for using the device to repeatedly pass the suture through the tissue with or without removing the suture or device from the target site is disclosed.

A surgical stapling system for treating tissue of a patient is disclosed. The surgical stapling system comprises an end effector, a firing member, a motor, a RF transceiver configured to transmit RF signals, and a sensing array. The end effector comprises an elongate channel, an anvil rotatable relative to the elongate channel from an open position toward a closed position, and a staple cartridge removably positioned in the elongate channel. The staple cartridge comprises a plurality of staples removably stored therein. The firing member is movable between an unfired position and a fired position. The staples are deployed from the staple cartridge based on the firing member being moved toward the fired position. The motor is configured to drive the firing member toward the fired position. The sensing array is configured to sense compression of the tissue, properties of the tissue, and a presence of metallic elements within the tissue.