Surgical stapling apparatus

1. Field of the Invention An endoscopic surgical apparatus is provided for placing lateral lines of surgical fasteners into body tissue. The apparatus includes a frame portion, an elongated portion extending from the frame portion, and an articulating fastener applying assembly associated with a dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Green, David T, Ratcliff, Keith, Milliman, Keith, Sienkiewicz, Henry R, Palmer, Mitchell J, Bryan, Graham W
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 11.11.2003
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Summary:1. Field of the Invention An endoscopic surgical apparatus is provided for placing lateral lines of surgical fasteners into body tissue. The apparatus includes a frame portion, an elongated portion extending from the frame portion, and an articulating fastener applying assembly associated with a distal end of the elongated portion. The fastener applying assembly includes a base portion, a staple cartridge housing, and an anvil member which has a forming surface thereon against which surgical fasteners are driven as they are ejected from the cartridge housing. A first mechanism is provided for effectuating the rotation of the fastener applying assembly about an axis defined by the body portion, a second mechanism is provided for effectuating the articulation of the fastener applying assembly, and a third mechanism is provided for independently rotating the cartridge housing and anvil member relative to a longitudinal axis defined by the base position to increase the range of operability of the apparatus.