Patent ID: 11883050
Assignee: ASENSUS SURGICAL US, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A method of using a surgical instrument comprising:
providing an elongate shaft having a push rod longitudinally extending therethrough, a shaft tip on the shaft and axially rotatable relative to the shaft, the shaft tip having first and second through-holes, and an end effector including a grasping Jaw, a cutting jaw, and at least one intermediate jaw, said grasping jaw forming a grasping device defining a grasping jaw opening with at least one of said at least one intermediate jaw, and said cutting jaw forming a cutting device having a cutting jaw opening with at least one of said at least one intermediate jaw;
positioning the shaft tip in a first axial position relative to the shaft to position the first through-hole in longitudinal alignment with the push rod, and moving an actuator relative to the shaft to longitudinally advance the push rod into the first through-hole to move the grasping jaw from an open position to a closed position without moving the cutting jaw between open and closed positions;
axially rotating the shaft tip to position the shaft tip in a second axial position relative to the shaft to position the second through-hole in longitudinal alignment with the push rod, and moving the actuator relative to the shaft to longitudinally advance the push rod into the second through-hole to move the cutting jaw from the open position to the closed position without moving the grasping jaw between open and closed positions.