FIELD

The present application is generally related to surgical stapling apparatus, and more particularly, to anvil buttresses, anvil assemblies including anvil buttress attachment assemblies, and anvil buttress loading tools for releasably securing the anvil buttresses to the surgical stapling apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Surgical stapling apparatus are employed by surgeons to sequentially or simultaneously apply one or more rows of fasteners, e.g., staples or two-part fasteners, to body tissue for the purpose of joining segments of body tissue together. Such apparatus generally include a pair of jaws or finger-like structures between which the body tissue to be joined is placed. When the surgical stapling apparatus is actuated, or “fired”, longitudinally moving firing bars contact staple drive members in one of the jaws. The staple drive members push the surgical staples through the body tissue and into an anvil in the opposite jaw which forms the staples. If body tissue is to be removed or separated, a knife blade can be provided in the jaws of the apparatus to cut the body tissue between the lines of staples.

Surgical supports, e.g., meshes or buttress materials, may be used in combination with surgical stapling apparatus to bridge, repair, and/or reinforce tissue defects within a patient. A clinician may manually attach the buttress materials to the surgical stapling apparatus in the operating room during a surgical procedure, or utilize a surgical stapling apparatus including buttress materials pre-installed thereon, e.g., by an expensive automated attachment process. The buttress material reinforces the staple or suture line as well as covers the juncture of the tissues to reduce leakage prior to healing.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to anvil side buttress material attachment onto a loading unit of a surgical stapling apparatus. Anvil buttresses, anvil assemblies including anvil buttress attachment assemblies, and anvil buttress loading tools are designed to make anvil buttress attachment in the operating room a simple, straightforward, and cost effective procedure. For example, the anvil buttresses, anvil assemblies, and anvil buttress loading tools are configured for mechanical engagement of the anvil buttress to either of the anvil assembly or the anvil buttress loading tool, and for the transfer of the anvil buttress from the anvil buttress loading tool to the anvil assembly by sliding the anvil buttress loading tool, loaded with the anvil buttress, on to and off of the anvil assembly. Such configurations, as compared, for example, to attachment systems requiring the use of adhesives, reduce the number of components and/or assembly steps required to use the surgical stapling apparatus with an anvil buttress thereby simplifying the set-up and/or use of the surgical stapling apparatus and reducing time and/or cost to the user. As another example, the anvil buttress loading tools may be pre-loaded (e.g., by the manufacturer or prior to use in the operating room) with an anvil buttress so that a user need only load the anvil assembly with the anvil buttress via the loading tool which also simplifies the set-up and/or use of the surgical stapling apparatus and reduces the time and/or cost of the surgical procedure.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an anvil buttress loading system including an anvil assembly, an anvil buttress loading tool, and an anvil buttress. The anvil assembly includes an anvil plate and an anvil tip. The anvil plate has a tissue facing surface defining a plurality of staple forming pockets therein, and a proximal end portion of the tissue facing surface includes a hook assembly. The anvil buttress loading tool includes a carrier defining a cavity therein. The carrier has a support surface, with a proximal end portion of the carrier including a pair of proximal protrusions and a distal end portion of the carrier including a distal protrusion. The anvil buttress includes a body, a pair of proximal tabs extending proximally from the body, and a distal tab extending distally from the body. The body of the anvil buttress is positionable on the support surface of the anvil buttress loading tool with the pair of proximal tabs engaged with the pair of proximal protrusions and the distal tab engaged with the distal protrusion to retain the anvil buttress on the anvil buttress loading unit. The body of the anvil buttress is positionable on the tissue facing surface of the anvil assembly with a proximal end portion of the body engaged with the hook assembly and a distal end portion engaged with the anvil tip to retain the anvil buttress on the anvil assembly. The anvil buttress is transferrable from the anvil buttress loading tool to the anvil assembly.

The hook assembly of the anvil assembly may include a pair of hooks disposed on opposed sides of a central longitudinal slot defined through the tissue facing surface. Each hook may include an arm having a first end anchored to the tissue facing surface and a second end including a finger extending therefrom. The first end of the arm may be anchored to the tissue facing surface at a proximal end thereof and the second end of the arm may be disposed distal thereto. A terminal end of the finger may be biased against the tissue facing surface of the anvil assembly and movable relative to the tissue facing surface.

The anvil buttress may have a proximal window defined in the proximal end portion of the body. The proximal window may be configured to receive the fingers of the pair of hooks therethrough. The anvil buttress may have a distal window defined through a distal end portion of the anvil buttress. The distal window may be configured to receive the anvil tip therethrough.

The carrier of the anvil buttress loading tool may include longitudinal rails extending from opposed sides of the support surface. The anvil assembly may be positionable between the longitudinal rails with the tissue facing surface adjacent to the support surface. The carrier of the anvil buttress loading tool may include a transverse rail extending across distal ends of the longitudinal rails and over the support surface defining a distal opening into the cavity.

In another aspect, the disclosure provides an anvil buttress loading assembly including an anvil buttress loading tool and an anvil buttress. The anvil buttress loading tool includes a carrier defining a cavity therein. The carrier has a support surface, with a proximal end portion of the carrier including a pair of proximal protrusions and a distal end portion of the carrier including a distal protrusion. The anvil buttress includes a body, a pair of proximal tabs extending proximally from the body, and a distal tab extending distally from the body. The body of the anvil buttress is positioned on the support surface, the pair of proximal tabs are engaged with the pair of proximal protrusions, and the distal tab are engaged with the distal protrusion.

The carrier of the anvil buttress loading tool may include longitudinal rails extending from opposed sides of the support surface. A plurality of axially spaced and opposed tabs may extend from the longitudinal rails and over the support surface. The carrier of the anvil buttress loading tool may include a transverse rail extending across distal ends of the longitudinal rails and over the support surface defining a distal opening into the cavity. The distal protrusion may extend from the transverse rail. The anvil buttress may include a distal window defined through a distal end portion of the body, with the distal window aligned with the distal opening of the carrier.

In yet another aspect, the disclosure provides a loading unit including a staple cartridge assembly, an anvil assembly, and an anvil buttress. The anvil assembly includes an anvil plate and an anvil tip. The anvil plate has a tissue facing surface defining a plurality of staple forming pockets therein, with a proximal end portion of the tissue facing surface including a hook assembly. The anvil buttress includes a body having a proximal end portion releasably coupled to the anvil assembly by the hook assembly.

The hook assembly may include a pair of hooks disposed on opposed sides of a central longitudinal slot defined through the tissue facing surface of the anvil assembly. Each hook may have an arm having a first end anchored to the tissue facing surface and a second end including a finger extending therefrom. The first end of the arm may be anchored to the tissue facing surface at a proximal end thereof and the second end of the arm may be disposed distal thereto. A terminal end of the finger may be biased against the tissue facing surface of the anvil assembly and movable relative to the tissue facing surface.

The anvil buttress may have a proximal window defined in the proximal end portion of the body, with the fingers of the pair of hooks extending through the proximal window and positioned against the tissue facing surface. The anvil buttress may have a distal window defined through a distal end portion of the body, with the distal end portion of the anvil buttress coupled to the anvil assembly by engagement of the distal window around the anvil tip.

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other aspects, as well as features, objects, and advantages of the aspects described in this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

