Patent Application
20220125541
The disclosure relates to circular stapling instruments. More particularly, the disclosure relates to mechanisms for facilitating the attachment of an anvil assembly circular stapling instrument to a trocar member of the circular stapling instrument.
Circular stapling instruments are used to perform end to end anastomosis. During a typical surgical stapling procedure, an anvil assembly of the circular stapling instrument is delivered to the surgical site while a staple cartridge of the circular stapling instrument supported on an elongate shaft is inserted through an incision in, for example, the abdominal wall. Alternatively, the circular stapling instrument may include a curved or flexible shaft that permits introduction of the staple cartridge to the surgical site through a natural body orifice, e.g., mouth or anus. The circular staplers may be manual or powered, and may be modified for use with robotic surgical systems.
To better facilitate attachment of the anvil assembly to a trocar member extending from the elongate body and through the staple cartridge of the circular stapling instrument, it would be beneficial to have a mechanism for attracting the anvil assembly and the trocar member towards one another.
A circular stapling instrument including an elongate body having a distal portion, a loading unit disposed on the distal portion of the elongate body, a trocar member extending from the elongate body and through the loading unit, and an anvil assembly. The loading unit includes a staple cartridge supporting a plurality of surgical staples. The trocar member includes a first magnetic member supported along a length of the trocar member. The anvil assembly includes a center rod having a plurality of legs defining an opening. The center rod includes a second magnetic member supported on the plurality of legs of the center rod. The second magnetic member is magnetically attracted to the first magnetic member to direct the trocar member towards the anvil assembly.
In certain aspects of the disclosure, the trocar member includes a piercing distal tip and a notch. The first magnetic member may be disposed between the piercing distal tip and the notch. The trocar member may include a visible band. The visible band may be disposed within the notch. The center rod of the anvil assembly may be releasably engageable with the trocar member. The visible band may be covered by the plurality of legs of the center rod when the center rod is attached to the trocar member. The visible band may be orange. A distal tip of the trocar member may be configured to pierce tissue.
In some aspects of the disclosure, the first magnetic member may include a magnetic ring. In other aspects of the disclosure, the first magnetic member includes a magnetic sleeve. The elongate body may be a component of an adapter assembly.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure and, together with a general description of the disclosure given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure, wherein:
Aspects of the disclosure are described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As used herein, the term “distal” refers to that portion of the adapter assembly or surgical device, or component thereof, farther from the user, while the term “proximal” refers to that portion of the adapter assembly or surgical device, or component thereof, closer to the user. As used herein, the term clinician refers to anyone involved in a surgical procedure, including but not limited to, surgeons, support staff, and other medical personnel.
The circular stapling instrument 1 includes an adapter assembly 100 extending from the powered handle assembly 10. The adapter assembly 100 will only be described to the extent necessary to fully disclose the aspects of the disclosure. For a detailed description of exemplary adapter assemblies, please refer to U.S. Pat. No. 10,371,238 and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0128123 (“the '123 application”), the contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The adapter assembly 100 releasably connects to the powered handle assembly 10. The adapter assembly 100 includes a housing 102 operably connectable to the powered handle assembly 10, and an elongate body 104 extending from the housing 102. A loading unit 110 may be integrated with the adapter assembly 100, or may be releasably coupled to the adapter assembly 100 to permit reuse of the adapter assembly 100. The elongate body 104 of the adapter assembly 100 may be flexible to facilitate insertion of the loading unit 110 within a body cavity “C” (
The trocar member 106 extends through the loading unit 110 supported on the distal portion of the elongate body 104. The trocar member 106 includes a piercing distal tip 106a and defines a notch 107 longitudinally spaced from the distal tip 106a configured for operable engagement with legs 126 of a center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120. In certain aspects of the disclosure, and as shown, a band 108 is disposed within or in close proximity to the notch 107. As will be described in further detail below, when the anvil assembly 120 is fully engaged with the trocar member 106, the band 108 on the trocar member 106 is covered by the legs 126 of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120 and is no longer visible to the clinician. In some aspects of the disclosure, the band 108 is orange.
As described in the '123 application, the trocar member 106 is retractable within the elongate body 104 to approximate the anvil assembly 120 relative to the loading unit 110.
The trocar member 106 of the circular stapling instrument 1 (
The legs 126 of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120 include a second magnetic member 134. As with the first magnetic member, the second magnetic member is shown, and will be described as including a ring or sleeve. It is envisioned that the second magnetic member 134 may include a magnetic tape or wrap. The second magnetic member 134 is positioned distal of the proximal end of the center rod 124 and in such a manner that the trocar member 106, including the first magnetic member 132, is magnetically drawn towards an opening 125 formed at the distal end of the legs 126 of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120. In this manner, the first and second magnetic members 132, 134 form an alignment mechanism configured to facilitate attachment of the anvil assembly 120 to the trocar member 106.
Although described as a ring, as shown, the second magnetic member 134 includes three ring sections 134a corresponding to the three legs 126 of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120. In this manner, the configuration of the second magnetic member 134 accommodates flexing of the legs 126 of the center rod 124 to permit securing of the anvil assembly 120 with the trocar member 106. It is envisioned that the second magnetic member 134 may be secured to the legs 126 of the center rod 124 using adhesive, or in any other suitable manner. The second magnetic member 134 may be received on the outer surface of the legs 126 of the center rod 124, or on an inner surface of the legs 126 of the center rod 124. As with the first magnetic member 132, the second magnetic member 134 may be received within a groove such that the second magnetic member 134 is recessed to prevent catching of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120 with the trocar member 106.
It is envisioned that that magnetic attraction between the first and second magnetic members 132, 134 is such that the anvil assembly 120 and the trocar member 106 facilitate alignment of the anvil assembly 120 with the trocar member 106, but no so much that the legs 126 of the center rod 124 of the anvil assembly 120, including the second magnetic member 134, cannot be passed over the first magnetic member 132 and secured to the trocar member 106 as described below.
Persons skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary aspects of the disclosure. It is envisioned that the elements and features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary aspect may be combined with the elements and features of another without departing from the scope of the disclosure. As well, one skilled in the art will appreciate further features and advantages of the disclosure based on the above-described aspects. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described, except as indicated by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of and prior to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/105,528, filed on Oct. 26, 2020, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63105528 | Oct 2020 | US |
