Systems and methods for effecting bariatric procedures are disclosed. Each system includes an instrument, a control valve and, optionally, a suction controller. The instrument is in the form of an elongated, flexible member having a distal end portion arranged for anchoring the instrument in the patient's stomach and for enabling fluids to be removed from the patient's stomach. Suction is applied to the patient's stomach by the distal end portion of the instrument to drain gastric fluids and to bring adjacent portions of the patient's stomach into engagement with the instrument to provide a visually perceptible delineation line along which a portion of the stomach may be resected, sealed and tested.

A surgical stapling device (10) includes a replaceable cartridge assembly (44) having knife assembly (80) and an anvil assembly (42) including a cutting plate (52). The cutting plate (52) is configured be durable to maintain performance of the stapling device (10) over multiple firings.

A surgical stapling instrument includes an anvil and a stapling head assembly. The anvil defines staple forming pockets. The stapling head assembly includes a body, a coupling member, a firing assembly, and a staple deck. The coupling member is configured to actuate relative to the body to thereby acuate the anvil relative to the body. The firing assembly is configured to drive staples against the staple forming pockets of the anvil. The staple deck is defined by an outer arched perimeter and an inner arched perimeter fixed to the body. The staple deck defines staple openings. At least one non-tangential staple opening in the of staple openings extends along a longitudinal axis in a non-tangential relationship with a closest tangent line of the inner arched perimeter or the outer arched perimeter.

A stapling assembly comprising an anvil, a staple cartridge, and a tissue cutting knife is disclosed. The staple cartridge comprises a longitudinal slot, a first group of staple cavities, a second group of staple cavities, staple drivers, and staples. The staples comprise a first group of staples positioned in the first group of staple cavities, and a second group of staples positioned in the second group of staple cavities. The first group of staples are deformed against the anvil to a first formed height by the staple drivers during a staple firing stroke. The second group of staples are deformed against the anvil to a second formed height by the staple drivers during the staple firing stroke. The second formed height is different than the first formed height. The tissue cutting knife is movable longitudinally within the longitudinal slot to drive the staple drivers during the staple firing stroke.

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.

Systems and methods are described for correcting sagittal imbalance in a spine including instruments for performing the controlled release of the anterior longitudinal ligament through a lateral access corridor and hyper-lordotic lateral implants.

A detachable motor-powered surgical instrument. The instrument may include a housing that includes at least one engagement member for removably attaching the housing to an actuator arrangement. A motor is supported within the housing for supplying actuation motions to various portions of a surgical end effector coupled to the housing. The housing may include a contact arrangement that is configured to permit power to be supplied to the motor only when the housing is operably attached to the actuator arrangement.

A method, apparatus, and system for cutting anatomic members, such as ligaments, in surgical procedures such as carpal tunnel release, plantar fasciotomy, gastroc release, cubital tunnel release, and tarsal tunnel release is disclosed. The apparatus includes a guide tool for guiding a knife and a scope during surgery which may be employed with a translating knife. Relevant features include a knife stop for preventing the knife from inadvertently raising out of the knife channel, indicia viewable to show the proper orientation for the guide tool, a self dilating tip and channel design on the guide tool, a cover piece and/or pivotable panel system for preventing ligaments and other anatomy from getting caught in the guide tool, a pivot pin and groove system for stabilizing the knife and also assuring that the knife blade is not inadvertently raised out of the channel, and a use indicator employable to prevent re-use of the device.

Embodiments include devices and methods configured to fractionally resect skin and/or fat. Fractional resection is applied as a stand-alone procedure in anatomical areas that are off-limits to conventional plastic surgery due to the poor tradeoff between the visibility of the incisional scar and amount of enhancement obtained. Fractional resection is also applied as an adjunct to established plastic surgery procedures such as liposuction, and is employed to significantly reduce the length of incisions required for a particular application. The shortening of incisions has application in both the aesthetic and reconstructive realms of plastic surgery.

A cricothyrotomy apparatus includes a frame, a protuberance, and a blade member. The frame includes a blade guide. The protuberance extends in a first direction from the frame, and is located at a distance from the blade guide that corresponds to the distance between a sternal notch of an adult human and an anterior cricothyroid membrane of the adult human. The protuberance is sized and configured to be at least partly received by a sternal notch of an adult human. The blade member is slideably disposed in the blade guide.