Patent ID: 7963964
Filing Date: 2011-06-21
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A surgical clamp assembly for grasping and heating portions of a patient's body, comprising: a clamp having first and second jaws that are movable toward and away form each other, each jaw having a clamping surface that faces the other jaw and which engages a selected portion of a patient's body; a retainer operatively connected to the first and second jaws and movable between locked and unlocked positions, the retainer when in the locked position permitting the jaws to move toward each other but preventing the jaws from moving away from each other, and when in the unlocked position permitting the jaws to move away from each other; an actuator selectively and operatively engageable with and disengageable from the first and second jaws, the actuator enabling a user to open and close the jaws, wherein the actuator has first and second arms that are movable toward and away from each other, and further comprising a third arm selectively engageable with and disengageable from the retainer, the third arm being movable between a first position where the third arm is disposed adjacent the retainer when the retainer is in the locked position and a second position where the third arm engages the retainer and displaces it to the unlocked position; and an electrode forming a portion of the clamping surface of at least one of the jaws, the electrode capable of heating the portion of the patient's body that is grasped by the clamp to a desired temperature.