Clip applier with clip follower
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 a 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. The surgical clip applier can include a variety of features to facilitate use of the device, including features to align a clip with the jaws, features to prevent unintentional migration of a clip, and features to prevent clip fallout during formation.
1. A surgical clip applier, comprising:
a housing having an elongate shaft extending distally therefrom with a pair of jaws at a distal end thereof, the elongate shaft including a clip advancement assembly having a clip carrier for seating a plurality of clips and for slidably seating a feeder shoe positioned proximal of the plurality of clips;
a trigger coupled to the housing and configured to move each jaw of the pair of jaws towards and away from one another; and
an advancer member configured to move proximally and distally, wherein distal movement of the advancer member is effective to engage a first tang on the feeder shoe to cause the feeder shoe to move distally with the advancer member to thereby distally advance the plurality of clips in the clip carrier, and wherein a second tang on the feeder shoe engages the clip carrier during proximal movement of the advancer member to prevent the feeder shoe from moving proximally with the advancer member;
wherein actuation of the trigger from an open position toward a closed position distally advances the advancer member, and release of the trigger causes the advancer member to proximally retract.
2. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein actuation of the trigger further actuates the clip advancement assembly to advance the clip carrier distally and to advance a clip into the pair of jaws.
3. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the first and second tangs extend from opposite surfaces of the feeder shoe.
4. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the first tang of the feeder shoe is configured to extend into a window in the advancer member to engage a ledge of the window.
5. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the second tang of the feeder shoe is configured to extend into a window in the clip carrier to engage a ledge of the window.
6. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the clip carrier includes opposed side rails for seating opposed legs of the plurality of clips.
7. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the clip carrier includes a plurality of windows formed therein.
8. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the advancer member includes a plurality of windows formed therein.
9. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , further comprising a pusher bar slidably disposed in the elongate shaft and configured to engage and advance a distal-most clip of the plurality of clips into the pair of jaws.
10. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the pair of jaws each include camming surfaces thereon for allowing the pair of jaws to be cammed from an open configuration to a closed configuration.
11. The surgical clip applier of claim 1 , wherein the feeder shoe has a distal end with a recess configured to seat a clip.