An introducer cannula for use in crossing pleural layers includes an elongate tubular member and a pleural access liner. The elongate tubular member has a proximal end, a distal end, and a side wall that longitudinally extends between the proximal end and the distal end. The side wall has an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the inner surface defines a lumen. The pleural access liner is made of a swellable and bioabsorbable material that swells when hydrated. The pleural access liner has a shape of an elongate tube and the pleural access liner has an elongate opening that surrounds an outer surface portion of the outer surface of the elongate tubular member.

A fixation assembly for securing parts of a sternum is provided. The assembly comprises a flexible elongated member and an attachment member. The flexible elongated member includes a locking structure configured to secure the flexible elongated member in a loop around the sternum parts. The attachment member has at least one opening for receiving a bone fastener and is coupled to the flexible elongated member.

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.

Systems and methods for forming an anastomosis between two adjacent walls of a digestive tract are provided. The system can include a first and second magnetic implants that are configured to magnetically couple to each other through the two adjacent walls of the digestive tract to compress a portion of the two adjacent walls therebetween and form a necrotic area that becomes surrounded by a scarred edge following a healing time period. The system can also include a retention member that can extend outwardly from a corresponding one of the first and second magnetic implants, the retention member being configured to retain the first and second magnetic implants in position and prevent passage thereof through the necrotic area during the healing time period.

The invention relates to a marker body (10) for marking breast tissue for radiotherapy. The marker body (10) has an at least partly tube-like body (12) which is made from a soft elastic material and carries multiple radio-opaque marker elements (18). The at least partly tube-like body (12) is designed so that it offers hardly any resistance to an external, deforming force, but returns to its original shape in the absence of external forces. The at least partly tube-like body (12) has two free longitudinal ends (14, 16) which can be detachably interconnected or are interconnected, resulting in a tubular ring.

A new implant for bone fracture treatment that can easily and securely fix bone fragments is provided. An implant 2 for bone fracture treatment that covers bone fragments gathered at a site to be treated for a bone fracture in a living body and reduces and fixes the site invasively includes a metal knit portion 10 formed by knitting a metal string 11 constituted by one or a plurality of biocompatible metal string elements 12 into a cylindrical shape by circular knitting. The implant 2 further includes a resin knit portion 30 formed by knitting a resin string 31 constituted by one or a plurality of biocompatible resin string elements into a cylindrical shape by circular knitting. The metal knit portion 10 and the resin knit portion 30 are knitted to be continuous in an axial direction.

A method for implanting an intrafacet implant includes making an incision, advancing an instrument assembly through the incision and to a facet joint. The instrument assembly includes a guide having a lumen extending therethrough. The method includes anchoring the guide at the facet joint, advancing an intrafacet implant to the facet joint through the guide using an inserter, and countersinking the intrafacet implant within the facet joint using the inserter.

A biodegradable flow diverting device (BFDD) that will regulate blood flow into an aneurysmal sac, act as a scaffold for endothelization at the neck of an aneurysm, and degrade after successful dissolution of aneurysm and remodeling of blood vessel. This BFDD and associated fabrication method have the following features: (1) This is a non-braided FDD. The pore shapes, sizes, architectures (especially at the inlet and outlet of the pores), pore densities and porosities can be controlled for the optimum performance depending on the blood vessel and aneurysmal morphologies from patient MRI images, (2) BFDD is developed on a rotary arm with programmable variable speed and diameter in conjunction with a micromotion stage (3) Fabrication system can take any material including blended/composite biomaterials by adjusting temperature of the electro-melt extruder/needle and (4) Fabrication system is compatible with CAM (computer aided manufacturing) software and able to operate based on the adapted G-code.

A staple cartridge assembly for use with a surgical stapling instrument includes a staple cartridge including a plurality of staples and a cartridge deck. The staple cartridge assembly also includes a compressible adjunct positionable against the cartridge deck, wherein the staples are deployable into tissue captured against the compressible adjunct, and wherein the compressible adjunct comprises a first biocompatible layer comprising a first portion, a second biocompatible layer comprising a second portion, and crossed spacer fibers extending between the first portion and the second portion.

Systems and methods for treating tissue may include one or more delivery devices, a grasping element, a first ring for anchoring to a wall of a gastrointestinal tract, and a second ring operably couplable to a radially inward surface of the first ring. Other embodiments include methods of treating tissues, including tubular tracts of tissue, comprising coupling a first ring to first tissue of a wall of a tissue tract, relocating a target tissue proximally to a position proximal to the first ring, coupling a second ring to the first ring, and cutting tissue proximal to the interface of the first and second rings.