Surgical stapler with timer and feedback display
View Patent ↗A surgical apparatus has a clamp and a stapling mechanism. The clamp has a first jaw and a second jaw to clamp on a body tissue at a desired location for a stapling operation. The stapling mechanism is controlled by a trigger handle or a switch assembly. The surgical apparatus has a controller for providing a delay between clamping and actuating of the firing mechanism of the stapling mechanism. The delay provides for a desired amount of time for tissue compression producing a more uniform staple formation. The surgical apparatus also has an indicator. The indicator provides feedback about the status of the stapling mechanism and also displays a time of tissue compression by the clamp.
1. A surgical stapler comprising:
a handle assembly including a trigger;
a clamping device having a staple cartridge containing a plurality of staples and an anvil having a fastener forming surface thereon, the clamping device having a first open state and a second closed state;
a drive assembly at least partially located within the handle and connected to the clamping device;
a controller configured to determine an occurrence of clamping by the anvil and the staple cartridge, the controller controlling a delay between start of clamping and firing of the plurality of staples from the staple cartridge for a predetermined time period; and
a dampening device coupled to the controller, the dampening device modulating movement of the drive assembly to vary movement of the clamping device to correspond with the predetermined time period from the start of the movement at the first open state to the end of the movement at the second closed state.
2. The surgical stapler of claim 1 , wherein the controller is operatively connected to a manual drive member to urge the plurality of staples from the staple cartridge.
3. The surgical stapler of claim 1 , wherein the controller is operatively connected to a motor to urge the plurality of staples from the staple cartridge.
4. The surgical stapler of claim 3 , wherein the dampening device controls the speed of the motor during the predetermined time period.
5. The surgical stapler of claim 1 , wherein the staples are fired automatically after the predetermined time period.
6. The surgical stapler of claim 1 , further comprising an indicator connected to the controller, the indicator indicating a signal to the surgeon after the predetermined time period.