Surgical clip applier methods
View Patent ↗A surgical clip applier and methods for applying surgical clips to a vessel, duct, shunt, etc., during a surgical procedure are provided. In one exemplary embodiment, a surgical clip applier is provided having a housing with a trigger movably coupled thereto and an elongate shaft extending therefrom with opposed jaws formed on a distal end thereof. The trigger is adapted to advance a clip to position the clip between the jaws, and to move the jaws from an open position to a closed position to crimp the clip positioned therebetween.
1. A method for applying a surgical clip, comprising:
moving a trigger coupled to a housing a first distance toward a closed position to actuate a clip advancing assembly disposed within the housing, thereby advancing a clip into a jaw assembly formed on a distal end of the elongate shaft; and
further moving the trigger a second distance toward the closed position to actuate a clip forming assembly disposed within the housing, thereby forming the clip disposed within the jaw assembly, wherein a pliant monolithic feed link coupled between the trigger the clip advancing assembly flexes during actuation of the trigger such that the trigger moves toward the closed position without causing distal movement of a feed bar of the clip advancing assembly.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the clip forming assembly is pliant relative to the jaw assembly during actuation thereof.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the clip forming assembly is in communication with an overload mechanism that is adapted allow compliance of the clip forming assembly relative to the jaw assembly.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the clip forming assembly applies a closing force to the jaw assembly when the clip forming assembly is actuated, and wherein the closing force is transferred to the overload mechanism when the closing force is greater than a threshold force of the overload mechanism.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the clip advancing assembly includes a feed bar, and wherein actuation of the clip advancing assembly causes the feed bar to drive a distal-most clip disposed within the elongate shaft into the jaw assembly, and to distally drive at least one additional clip disposed within the elongate shaft.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one additional clip is distally driven by a feeder shoe disposed within the elongate shaft and distally driven by the feed bar.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the feed bar initiates advancement of the distal-most clip prior to initiating advancement of the feeder shoe.
8. The method of claim 5 , further comprising proximally retracting the feed bar within the elongate shaft while the feeder shoe is maintained in a substantially fixed position.