Surgical Stapling Apparatus with Detachable Buttress Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical stapling apparatuses face challenges in effectively sealing and reinforcing thin or fragile tissues during endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures, particularly in preventing air or fluid leakage and tissue tears, as they lack efficient mechanisms for securing a buttress material to the stapling site.
Innovation Solution
The surgical stapling apparatus incorporates a detachable surgical buttress secured to the anvil or cartridge assembly using anchors, with a release assembly that allows the buttress to be automatically freed during the stapling process, ensuring secure attachment and easy removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a buttress material is secured to the stapling site during endoscopic procedures, then tissue reinforcement and leak prevention are improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for secure attachment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The buttress material is divided into multiple segments or strips that can be independently secured to the stapling site. Each segment can be attached separately using anchors or adhesives, allowing for distributed reinforcement without requiring a single complex attachment system. This segmentation enables reliable tissue support while simplifying the overall attachment mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The buttress material is pre-attached to the stapler jaw or cartridge before the surgical procedure. This preliminary attachment allows the buttress to be positioned and secured in advance, ensuring reliable tissue reinforcement during stapling without requiring complex attachment mechanisms during the actual stapling operation. The buttress is then transferred to the tissue with the stapled tissue.
2Ease of repair
If a detachable buttress with anchor system is used, then ease of replacement after firing is improved, but device complexity increases due to release assembly requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The release assembly is designed to automatically release the anchors from the buttress material when a specific condition is met, such as completion of the stapling cycle or activation of a release mechanism. This self-service feature allows the buttress to be easily detached and replaced without requiring manual manipulation of complex release mechanisms, simplifying the overall system while enabling easy replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The buttress material with its anchor system is designed as a disposable component that is attached to the stapler, used for a single stapling procedure, and then easily removed and discarded. The anchor and release assembly are designed for single-use simplicity, where the ease of replacement outweighs the complexity of the release mechanism, as the entire assembly can be quickly detached and replaced with a new unit.
3Reliability
If anchors are used to secure the buttress, then tissue sealing effectiveness is improved, but the stapling process time increases due to anchor engagement and release operations
Solution Approach 1:
The anchors are pre-positioned or pre-loaded into the stapler cartridge or jaw, and the buttress material is pre-attached to these anchors before the surgical procedure. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the stapling operation is performed, the anchors are already in place to provide immediate and effective tissue sealing, eliminating the need for time-consuming anchor engagement during the critical stapling moment.
Solution Approach 2:
The release of the anchors from the buttress material is designed to occur rapidly or be skipped entirely in certain configurations. For example, the anchors may remain engaged with the tissue and stapler after firing, and the buttress is simply peeled or detached from the anchors without requiring a complex release operation. This rushing through of the release phase minimizes the time added to the stapling process while maintaining effective sealing.
Data Source
AI summary
A loading unit for use with a surgical stapling apparatus is provided and includes a tool assembly having a cartridge assembly and an anvil assembly that are movable in relation to one another; a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly, wherein each surgical buttress is secured to the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly by at least one anchor; a release assembly associated with the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly; and a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly between proximal and distal positions, wherein the drive assembly actuates the release assembly to thereby release the anchor to free the surgical buttress from the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly.