referring now to the drawings in greater detail , there is illustrated in fig1 one embodiment of an anastomosis trimming device 10 constructed according to the teachings of the present invention . the trimming device 10 has two arms 12 and 14 joined at one end by a hinge portion 16 . preferably , the arms 12 and 14 and hinge portion 16 are made of a single injection molded piece of polycarbonate or other similar material with the device 10 having a staple - puller - like configuration . in this embodiment , a free end 17 of the arm 12 is provided with an integral die carrier 18 . the die carrier 18 is elongate , having an elongate axis generally in line with the elongate axis of the arm 12 . this die carrier 18 comprises a hollow horseshoe - shaped cup formation 19 ( fig4 ). a rim 20 of the cup formation 19 faces toward the opposing arm 14 and the cup formation 19 has a hollow 21 ( fig4 ) which is defined by the rim 20 . a cutting die assembly 22 is inserted into the hollow 21 and comprises a plastic blade carrier or base portion 24 which is configured to be snugly received within the hollow 21 of the cup formation 19 and a stainless steel sigmoid cutting element 26 . the base portion 24 is dimensioned in such a manner as to be flush along the rim 20 of the cup formation 19 when positioned within the hollow 21 and has , at approximately the center thereof and on an outwardly facing side 28 thereof , the sigmoid cutting element 26 which extends a predetermined distance outwardly from the base portion 24 toward the opposing arm 14 . it is understood that base portion 24 is held in hollow 21 with the aid of a screw ( not shown ) that is located through the die carrier 18 and is threaded into the blade carrier or base portion 24 . a free end 30 of the opposing arm 14 has mounted thereon a mating element 34 comprising , in this embodiment , a cutting block 35 which is also elongate and has an elongate axis generally in line with the long axis of the arm 14 . a rim 36 of mating element 34 , when the arms 12 and 14 are brought together , matingly engages against rim 20 of the cup formation 19 in a press fit relationship ( fig5 ). the mating element 34 , in this embodiment , comprises a housing 37 , having at the center thereof , a recessed seat member 38 having a cutting board - like surface 33 . the seat member 38 is preferably made of a polymer material which is softer than polycarbonate but which has a shore hardness greater than 60a , such as a material taken from the group consisting of polyurethane , polypropylene , acrylic butadiene styrene ( abs ) or the like . when the arms 12 and 14 are flexed toward each other , the cutting board - like surface 39 of the seat member 38 , by reason of its recessed position within the housing 37 , bears directly against the cutting element 26 of the cutting die 22 . turning now to fig2 it will be understood that the seat member 38 may be formed in such a manner as to be separable from the housing 37 so that it can be replaced when necessary , such as when it becomes worn or for cleaning after many cuttings . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the housing 37 can also be provided with an alignment or guide formation 40 , which in this embodiment is defined by v - shaped notches 41 , 42 which are cut into opposed sidewalls 43 , 44 of the housing 37 as illustrated in phantom in fig1 a blood vessel 46 can be positioned across the housing 37 and within the notches 41 , 42 to align the vessel 46 relative to the cutting element 26 . as shown in fig3 and 4 , the base portion 24 of the cutting die 22 has the shape of a rectangle with a radiused end , e . g ., a tombstone shape , and is positioned within the u - shape hollow 21 of the cup formation 19 of the die carrier 18 . the cutting die 22 can be replaced with another cutting die 22 having a different shaped cutting element 26 to allow for different shaped trims or cuts to be applied to an anastomotic end of a tubing , i . e . vessel 46 , as will be described in greater detail hereinafter . it is to be noted that the cutting die 22 can be slid into the u - shaped hollow 21 through the open end of the u and can be screwed into place or held securely in place by means of a ball and notch configuration , a force fit or the like . holes 47 , in base portion 24 , and 48 in die carrier 18 can be provided for this purpose , i . e ., for receiving a screw ( not shown ). referring now to fig5 in the use of the anastomosis trimming device 10 , a user places the trimming device 10 between thumb 50 and one or two fingers 52 . an end 54 of the vessel 46 which is to be anastomosed is placed within the notches 41 , 42 . once the tubular structure 46 is seated in the notches 41 , 42 of the housing 37 , one merely flexes the arms 12 and 14 toward each other by use of the thumb 50 and two fingers 52 as shown , and a precise trim or cut ( fig1 - 13 ) is produced on the end 54 of the vessel 46 by the cutting element 26 . with such precise alignment of the vessel 46 relative to the cutting element 26 , numerous cuts can be made with the device 10 using the cutting element 26 and such cuts will be substantially identical to each other . such reproducibility is desirable when forming an end - to - end anastomosis insofar as inexact mating ends , i . e ., ends which have been cut by scissors or the like and have a cut shape which has not been perfectly reproduced on each end to be anastomosed , can provide a weak area or an improper seating of an anastomosis which , under high pressure , or after a period of extended use , can become prone to leakage or blood clots ( if the lumens are not aligned ). also , the end 54 can be mated with an incision in the side of another vessel for forming an end - to - side anastomosis . referring now to fig6 there is disclosed therein another embodiment of an anastomosis trimming device 60 comprising a die carrier 70 and a cutting die 80 including a cutting element 81 which provides a straight cut to an end of a vessel 46 to be anastomosed . the die carrier 70 in this embodiment 60 is provided with a vertically disposed central throughbore 82 within which the cutting die 80 is rotatably mounted . various straight lines of cut 84 , 86 , 88 , 90 ( fig1 ) at different angles , relative to a line 91 normal to the elongate axis of the vessel 46 , which can be made with the device 60 are shown in fig1 . typical angles for straight lines of cut are 0 degrees , 30 degrees , 45 degrees or 60 degrees , to the line 91 . referring now to fig7 and 8 , a base portion 93 of the cutting die 80 is cylindrical and is received within the throughbore 82 of the die carrier 70 . such cylindrical base 93 may be provided with a tab 100 or like mechanism to allow a user of the anastomosis trimming device 60 to rotate and index with two fingers , the cutting die 80 within the throughbore 82 to any position required to provide a straight line of cut 84 , 86 , 88 , 90 , having a desired angle . a spring loaded releasable locking mechanism 111 is provided in the die carrier 70 for engaging and releasably holding the cutting die 80 at respective positions which will provide the straight line of cut 84 , 86 , 88 , 90 having the different desired angles . the cut tubing ends are shown in fig1 and identified with reference numerals 104 , 106 , 108 and 110 . for this purpose , the cutting die 80 has four pockets 114 , 116 , 118 ( fig8 ) and 120 ( fig7 ) on the cylindrical surface of the base 93 . the mechanism 111 includes a ball 121 biased by a spring 122 which are received in a bore 124 in the die carrier 70 . the ball 121 and spring 122 are held in the bore 124 by a set screw 126 and the ball 121 is biased toward the base 93 and when received in a pocket , e . g . pocket 118 ( fig8 ), releasably locks the cylindrical base 93 against rotation to set the cutting element at a desired angle . when a user has chosen a particular angle of cut , he merely turns the cutting die 80 by means of the tab 100 until the desired relative angular position of the cutting element 81 is obtained , at which point the ball 121 of the releasable locking mechanism 111 is received within a specific pocket 114 , 116 , 118 or 120 . once the ball 121 is received within a specific pocket and releasably locks the die against rotation , any number of cuts can be made with the trimming device 60 and each cut will be substantially identical to the last cut . in other words , as long as the ball 121 is spring biased in that pocket , e . g . pocket 118 in fig8 and each vessel 46 is aligned within alignment notches 41 , 42 provided in a housing 37 of a mating element 34 , each cut ill be reproducible and will provide a smooth trimmed end to the tubing or vessel 46 . turning now to fig9 there is illustrated therein a further embodiment of an anastomosis trimming device 150 which is a modification of the device 10 shown in fig5 and which is constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . for identical parts , the same reference numerals are used in fig9 as are used in fig5 . in this embodiment , one merely replaces the cutting block 35 utilized as the mating member 34 with a second cutting die 152 including a cutting element 154 and a die carrier 156 . the cutting element 154 is arranged to shear with cutting element 26 or 81 such that a scissor - like trimming or cutting of the end of the vessel 46 is obtained . in another alternative embodiment illustrated in fig1 , an anastomosis trimming device 200 is a scissor - type device comprising two handle portions 222 , 224 extending to blade portions 226 , 228 with one handle portion 222 and blade portion 226 being joined to the other handle portion 224 and blade portion 228 at a pivot 234 . the blade portions 226 , 228 do not contact each other as in a conventional scissor arrangement . rather the blade portion 226 , 228 mount on their respective distal ends 240 , 242 , a cutting element 250 and seat or cutting element 252 similar to that shown in fig1 or similar to that shown in fig9 . the blade portions 226 , 228 are movable toward each other to bring cutting element 250 against seat or cutting element 252 for cutting a tubing or vessel received therebetween and seated in a notched guide formation 254 . the device 200 is very useful in deep artery anastomoses where the user &# 39 ; s hand cannot be inserted into an area within a deep incision . any or all of the embodiments of the anastomosis trimming device 10 , 60 , 150 or 200 described above may be provided as a reuseable , sterilizable device or may be provided as a disposable device or as a combination of a sterilizable device with disposable blade assemblies and disposable seat members having the cutting board - like surface . for example , the embodiment 60 defined in fig6 - 8 may be provided in a sterilizable form so that the user can , if desired , acquire several such devices 60 , each having a particular cutting element 26 . further , as an alternative , and with reference to the device 10 shown in fig1 the body of the device 10 including the arms 12 , 14 and hinge 16 , can be reuseable , with the replaceable cutting die 22 and seat element 38 being either disposable or sterilizable . as described above , various geometries of cut are required for various forms of anastomoses and bypass procedures typically performed . as described above , and with reference to fig1 , the cutting die 80 with straight line cutting element 81 , can be positioned at varying angles to the line 91 of the tubular structure 46 , to produce the resultant trimmed or cut ends 102 , 106 , 108 or 110 having varying luminal extents and angles of cut . further , the sigmoid cutting element 26 having various length - to - diameter ratios can provide cut or trimmed ends as shown in fig1 . in fig1 , various length - to - diameter - ratio sigmoid cuts 310 , 312 and 314 obtained with a sigmoid cutting element are shown . further illustrated are the cut ends 320 , 322 and 324 of a vessel so formed with the cuts 310 , 312 or 314 . in fig1 , various length - to - diameter - ratio spatulate cuts 330 , 332 , and 334 obtained with a spatulate - shaped cutting element are shown and the cut ends 340 , 342 or 344 so formed with the cuts 330 , 332 or 334 are illustrated . it will be apparent from fig1 - 13 that the greater the deviation of the cut from a line normal to the long axis of the tubing or vessel , the greater the luminal extent provided to the cut end of the tubing or vessel . also , although various specific geometries of cut and variations thereof are set forth in the figures , these are not to be construed as limiting . the specific geometries and variations thereof illustrated herein are only set forth as examples and other geometries of cut can be used . the anastomosis trimming devices 10 , 60 , 150 and 200 have a number of advantages , some of which have been described above and others of which are inherent in the invention . accordingly , the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims .
the anastomosis trimming device is used for trimming one end section of a tubular structure , such as a blood vessel or vascular graft , which is to be anastomosed , to provide the anastomotic end with a smooth , reproducible shape . the end is trimmed in such a manner as to mate with a similarly trimmed end of a second tubular structure or with an incision in the side of a second tubular structure . the device comprises first and second arms pivotably connected to each other at one end , with the first arm mounting a cutting die including a cutting element on a free end thereof . the cutting element faces toward the second arm , and the free end of the second arm mounts a mating element facing toward the first arm which , upon pivoting of the free ends of the first and second arm , mates with the cutting element on the first arm .