Patent ID: 8167898
Filing Date: 2012-05-01
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A surgical apparatus suitable for cutting tissue, comprising: an anvil including an outer surface, a channel defined therein, and an aperture defined in said outer surface, said aperture opening to said channel; and a cutter slidable along and within said channel, said cutter comprising an arm with a substantially rectangular cross section that is wider than it is tall and that includes a downwardly-curved arcuate region at the distal end thereof, and a knife extending from the distal end of said arcuate region; wherein said arcuate region is flexible; said knife further including a cutting edge oriented upward toward said aperture; wherein said knife forms an obtuse angle with an upper surface of said arm when said cutter is in a neutral state; wherein said arm is movable longitudinally from a first position in which said knife is oriented at a non-perpendicular angle to said arm and in which said cutter is located substantially completely within said channel in said anvil to a second position in which said knife is substantially perpendicular to said arm, and wherein said arcuate region bends upward as said arm moves from said first position to said second position to cause at least a portion of said knife to move out of said anvil through said aperture in said outer surface.