surgical stapler with cooperating features on the distal end of the anvil and staple cartridge

摘要

the present invention relates to a surgical instrument which includes a body portion, a drive shaft and an end actuator and which is operable to compress, staple and cut tissue. the end actuator includes an anvil and a staple cartridge. the anvil has a body and a curved, modular, release tip that connects to the body. the curved tip can be elastically deformable. the curved anvil tip and the cartridge tip include cooperating features that assist in gripping the tissue during pinching. a separate cartridge can be provided that holds a replacement anvil tip and a replacement staple cartridge, with the replacement anvil tip and staple cartridge including cooperating features. the separate cartridge may also include anvil tip and staple cartridge removal features to assist in removing previously installed anvil tips and staple cartridges.