A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT FOR STITCHING SOFT TISSUES BY MEANS OF STAPLES

1,249,870. Stapling. VSESOJUZNY NAUCHNO - ISSLEDOVATELSKY INSTITUT KHIRURGICHESKOI APPARATURY I INSTRUMENTOV. 23 Oct., 1968 [23 Oct., 1967], No. 50242/68. Heading B4C. [Also in Division A5] A stapling instrument for suturing tissues comprises a circular magazine 6 with radially extending slots 9 holding staples 7, rotatably mounted on an axle 11, a body 1 and a lug 3 to close the staples rigidly connected to it, clamps 4, 5 slidable longitudinally of the body for holding the lips of tissues to be stitched to lug 3,and a pusher 8 slidable longitudinally of the body and actuated by a trigger 16 to force the staples from the magazine. As shown the pusher 8 consists of a base 23 and a removable portion 24 which slides on axle 11 and on a pin 25 mounted on the base 23, which has a spring 26 and a bracket 27 thereon to maintain a resilient connection between the pusher and a slider 12 which holds axle 11. In the operation of the instrument levers 30, 31 are depressed to bring clamps 4, 5 back and the tissues are then inserted into the gap, the levers then being released. The trigger 16 is depressed moving the pusher 8, which by means of collar 27 brings slider 12 with it towards the lug, which stops when it meets the tissues, and pusher 8 continues through slot 9 to force the staple through the tissues and close it against the lug 3. The magazine 6 has pins 15 around the axis acted upon by a spring 13 mounted on the body 1 such that when the slider 12 retracts, one of pins 15 bears on follower 14 and rotates the magazine through an angle corresponding to the -angle between adjacent slots. When the slider next moves towards the lug 3 the pin 15 presses the spring 13 down, and follower 14 with it, allowing the pin 15 and magazine 6 to continue unimpeded.