Abstract:
An endoscopic bipolar forceps is provided. The forceps includes a housing, a shaft, a drive assembly, a handle assembly and a slide activated cutting assembly. The shaft is affixed to the housing and comprises an end effector assembly comprising two jaw members at its distal end. The drive assembly is configured to move the end effector assembly. The handle assembly is in mechanical cooperation with the drive assembly. The slide-activated cutting assembly is disposed at least partially within the housing and move a knife rod comprising a knife blade at its distal end to cut tissue along a tissue seal. A source of electrosurgical energy is adapted to connect to each jaw member to enable them to conduct energy through tissue to affect a tissue seal.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/616,442, filed on Oct. 6, 2004, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 

   BACKGROUND 
   The present disclosure relates to an electrosurgical forceps and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to an endoscopic bipolar electrosurgical forceps for sealing and/or cutting tissue. 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   Electrosurgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrosurgical energy to affect hemostasis by heating the tissue and blood vessels to coagulate, cauterize and/or seal tissue. As an alternative to open forceps for use with open surgical procedures, many modern surgeons use endoscopes and endoscopic instruments for remotely accessing organs through smaller, puncture-like incisions. As a direct result thereof, patients tend to benefit from less scarring and reduced healing time. 
   Endoscopic instruments are inserted into the patient through a cannula, or port, which has been made with a trocar. Typical sizes for cannulas range from three millimeters to 12 millimeters. Smaller cannulas are usually preferred, which, as can be appreciated, ultimately presents a design challenge to instrument manufacturers who must find ways to make endoscopic instruments that fit through the smaller cannulas. 
   Many endoscopic surgical procedures require cutting or ligating blood vessels or vascular tissue. Due to the inherent spatial considerations of the surgical cavity, surgeons often have difficulty suturing vessels or performing other traditional methods of controlling bleeding, e.g., clamping and/or tying-off transected blood vessels. By utilizing an endoscopic electrosurgical forceps, a surgeon can either cauterize, coagulate/desiccate and/or simply reduce or slow bleeding simply by controlling the intensity, frequency and duration of the electrosurgical energy applied through the jaw members to the tissue. Most small blood vessels, i.e., in the range below two millimeters in diameter, can often be closed using standard electrosurgical instruments and techniques. However, if a larger vessel is ligated, it may be necessary for the surgeon to convert the endoscopic procedure into an open-surgical procedure and thereby abandon the benefits of endoscopic surgery. Alternatively, the surgeon can seal the larger vessel or tissue. 
   It is thought that the process of coagulating vessels is fundamentally different than electrosurgical vessel sealing. For the purposes herein, “coagulation” is defined as a process of desiccating tissue wherein the tissue cells are ruptured and/or dried. “Vessel sealing” or “tissue sealing” is defined as the process of liquefying the collagen in the tissue so that it reforms into a fused mass. Coagulation of small vessels is sufficient to permanently close them, while larger vessels need to be sealed to assure permanent closure. 
   In order to effectively seal larger vessels (or tissue) two predominant mechanical parameters should be accurately controlled—the pressure applied to the vessel (tissue) and the gap distance between the electrodes—both of which are affected by the thickness of the sealed vessel. More particularly, accurate application of pressure is important to oppose the walls of the vessel; to reduce the tissue impedance to a low enough value that allows enough electrosurgical energy through the tissue; to overcome the forces of expansion during tissue heating; and to contribute to the end tissue thickness which is an indication of a good seal. It has been determined that a typical fused vessel wall is optimum between about 0.001 inches and about 0.006 inches. Below this range, the seal may shred or tear and above this range the lumens may not be properly or effectively sealed. 
   With respect to smaller vessels, the pressure applied to the tissue tends to become less relevant whereas the gap distance between the electrically conductive surfaces becomes more significant for effective sealing. In other words, the chances of the two electrically conductive surfaces touching during activation increases as vessels become smaller. 
   Many known instruments include blade members or shearing members which simply cut tissue in a mechanical and/or electromechanical manner and are relatively ineffective for vessel sealing purposes. Other instruments rely on clamping pressure alone to procure proper sealing thickness and are not designed to take into account gap tolerances and/or parallelism and flatness requirements which are parameters which, if properly controlled, can assure a consistent and effective tissue seal. For example, it is known that it is difficult to adequately control thickness of the resulting sealed tissue by controlling clamping pressure alone for either of two reasons: 1) if too much force is applied, there is a possibility that the two poles will touch and energy will not be transferred through the tissue resulting in an ineffective seal; or 2) if too low a force is applied the tissue may pre-maturely move prior to activation and sealing and/or a thicker, less reliable seal may be created. 
   It has been found that the pressure range for assuring a consistent and effective seal is between about 3 kg/cm 2  to about 16 kg/cm 2  and, preferably, within a working range of about 7 kg/cm 2  to about 13 kg/cm 2 . Manufacturing an instrument which is capable of providing a closure pressure within this working range has been shown to be effective for sealing arteries, tissues and other vascular bundles. 
   Various force-actuating assemblies have been developed in the past for providing the appropriate closure forces to affect vessel sealing. For example, one such actuating assembly has been developed by Valleylab Inc., a division of Tyco Healthcare LP, for use with Valleylab&#39;s vessel sealing and dividing instrument commonly sold under the trademark LIGASURE ATLAS®. This assembly includes a four-bar mechanical linkage, a spring and a drive assembly which cooperate to consistently provide and maintain tissue pressures within the above working ranges. The LIGASURE ATLAS® is presently designed to fit through a 10 mm cannula and includes a bi-lateral jaw closure mechanism which is activated by a foot switch. A trigger assembly extends a knife distally to separate the tissue along the tissue seal. A rotating mechanism is associated with a distal end of the handle to allow a surgeon to selectively rotate the jaw members to facilitate grasping tissue. Co-pending U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/179,863 and 10/116,944 and PCT Application Ser. Nos. PCT/US01/01890 and PCT/US01/11340 describe in detail the operating features of the LIGASURE ATLAS® and various methods relating thereto. The contents of all of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   Certain surgical procedures necessitate the use of pistol-like forceps, while other procedures necessitate an in-line forceps to facilitate manipulation of vessels. For the in-line version, it would be difficult to use a conventional trigger or rotary knife actuation assembly to cut tissue. 
   It would be desirous to develop an endoscopic vessel sealing instrument which can be utilized for a variety of surgical procedures which may require both vessel sealing and subsequent division of tissue along the tissue seal. The instrument may include a simpler and more mechanically advantageous drive assembly to facilitate grasping and manipulating vessels and tissue. In addition and particularly with respect to in-line vessel sealing instruments, it may be desirous to manufacture an instrument which includes a sliding activation trigger to advance the cutting mechanism. 
   SUMMARY 
   According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an endoscopic bipolar forceps is provided. The forceps comprise a housing, a shaft, a drive assembly, a handle assembly and a slide-activated cutting assembly. The shaft defines a longitudinal axis, is affixed to the housing and comprises an end effector assembly at its distal end. The end effector assembly comprises two jaw members. The drive assembly is configured to move at least a portion of the end effector assembly. The handle assembly comprises a movable handle which forces a drive flange into mechanical cooperation with the drive assembly to move at least a portion of the end effector assembly. The slide-activated cutting assembly is disposed at least partially within the housing. The slide-activated cutting assembly moves a knife rod, which comprises a knife blade at its distal end, to cut tissue along a tissue seal. A source of electrosurgical energy is adapted to connect to each jaw member such that the jaw members are capable of conducting energy through tissue which is held therebetween. The electrosurgical energy is administered to seal the tissue. 
   In an exemplary embodiment, the slide-activated cutting assembly comprises a slide trigger configured to be pushed distally to move the knife rod distally. Further, the slide trigger may be pulled proximally to move the knife rod proximally. 
   It is envisioned for the slide trigger to include a generally arcuate-shaped finger rest. 
   It is contemplated for the slide-activated cutting assembly to comprise a knife slide which facilitates translation of the knife rod. A proximal portion of the knife slide is in mechanical engagement with the slide trigger. A distal portion of the knife slide is in mechanical engagement with the knife rod. 
   In an embodiment of the disclosure, the slide-activated cutting assembly further comprises a collar clamp operatively connected to the knife slide. The collar clamp helps maintain alignment of the knife slide during translation of the knife rod. 
   In an exemplary embodiment, the slide-activated cutting assembly includes a spring in mechanical engagement with the knife slide. The spring biases the knife slide in a proximal-most position. 
   It is envisioned that an amount of translation of the slide trigger substantially correlates to a resulting amount of translation of the knife rod. It is also envisioned that the amount of translation of the slide trigger indirectly correlates to a resulting amount of translation of the knife rod. 
   It is contemplated for the forceps to include a rotating assembly. In an exemplary embodiment, the rotating assembly rotates the jaw members about the longitudinal axis defined by the shaft. 
   In an embodiment of the disclosure, the forceps includes a switch disposed within the housing and in electromechanical cooperation with the source of electrosurgical energy. The switch allows a user to selectively supply bipolar energy to the jaw members to affect a tissue seal. 
   In an exemplary embodiment, the drive assembly comprises a reciprocating sleeve. Upon activation of the movable handle, the reciprocating sleeve translates to move a jaw member relative to the other jaw member. It is envisioned for the drive assembly to include at least one spring which biases the knife rod proximally. 
   A slide-activated cutting assembly for use with a surgical instrument is also disclosed. The slide-activated cutting assembly comprises a slide trigger and a knife assembly. The slide trigger comprises a flange. The knife assembly comprises a knife slide, a cutter collar, a knife rod and a collar clamp. The knife slide comprises a proximal portion which is in mechanical cooperation with the flange of the slide trigger and also comprises distal portion. The cutter collar is operatively connected with the distal portion of the knife slide. The knife rod extends distally from the cutter collar. The collar clamp maintains alignment of the knife assembly during translation of the knife rod and is positioned adjacent the cutter collar. The slide trigger and the knife assembly mutually cooperate to translate the knife rod upon translation of the slide trigger. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various embodiments of the subject instrument are described herein with reference to the drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an endoscopic forceps according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the endoscopic forceps of  FIG. 1 , illustrating a slide-activated cutting assembly comprising a slide trigger; 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the knife slide of  FIG. 1  illustrating an alternate slide trigger; 
       FIG. 4A  is an enlarged side view of a slide trigger of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
       FIG. 4B  is an enlarged side view of the alternate embodiment of the slide trigger of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an end effector assembly for use with the slide-activated cutting assembly; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an endoscopic bipolar forceps as disclosed in prior art; 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the forceps of  FIG. 6  as disclosed in prior art; and 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an in-line surgical forceps according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Embodiments of the presently disclosed slide-activated cutting assembly will now be described in detail with reference to the drawing figures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements. As used herein and as is traditional, the term “distal” refers to that portion which is farthest from the user while the term “proximal” refers to that portion which is closest to the user. 
   Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , illustrations of a slide-activated cutting assembly of a forceps are shown. The slide-activated cutting assembly is generally referred to by reference numeral  320  and the forceps is generally referred to by reference numeral  300 . The forceps  300  generally includes a housing  312 , a shaft  314  defining axis “A-A,” the slide-activated cutting assembly  320 , a handle assembly  430  and an end effector assembly  100 . The forceps  300  may also include a rotation assembly  80  and a switch  200 . 
   Although the majority of the figure drawings depict the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  for use in connection with endoscopic surgical procedures, the present disclosure may be used for more traditional open surgical procedures. For the purposes herein, the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  is described in terms of an endoscopic instrument, however, it is contemplated that an open version of the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  may also include the same or similar operating components and features as described below. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , the handle assembly  430  of the forceps  300  includes a fixed handle  450  and a movable handle  440 . The fixed handle  450  is integrally associated with the housing  312  and the movable handle  440  is movable relative to the fixed handle  450 . The movable handle  440  is operatively connected to the housing  312  and the fixed handle  450 . Further details of the handle assembly  430  are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   With continued reference to  FIG. 1 , the rotation assembly  80  may be integrally associated with the housing  312  and may be rotatable approximately 180 degrees in either direction about the axis “A-A.” Further details of the rotation assembly  80  are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , a proximal end  14  of the shaft  314  is in mechanical cooperation with the housing  312 . The end effector assembly  100  is attached at a distal end  16  of the shaft  314  and includes a pair of opposing jaw members  110  and  120 . The movable handle  440  of the handle assembly  430  is ultimately connected to a drive assembly (illustrated as reference numeral  150  in  FIG. 7  depicting Prior Art) which, together, mechanically cooperate to impart movement of the jaw members  110  and  120  from an open position wherein the jaw members  110  and  120  are disposed in spaced relation relative to one another, to a clamping or closed position wherein the jaw members  110  and  120  cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween. Further details of the drive assembly  150  and the end effector assembly  100  are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   It is envisioned that the switch  200  permits the user to selectively activate electrosurgical energy in a variety of different orientations, i.e., multi-oriented activation. As can be appreciated, this simplifies activation. Further details of the switch  200  are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   When the jaw members  110  and  120  are fully compressed about tissue, the forceps  300  is ready for selective application of electrosurgical energy and subsequent separation of the tissue. More particularly, as energy is being selectively transferred to the end effector assembly  100 , across the jaw members  110  and  120  and through the tissue, a tissue seal forms isolating two tissue halves. At this point with other known vessel sealing instruments, the user removes and replaces the forceps  300  with a cutting instrument (not shown) to divide the tissue halves along the tissue seal. As can be appreciated, this is both time consuming and tedious. 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  is in operative engagement with the housing  312  and generally includes a slide trigger  321  and a knife assembly  340  which mutually cooperate to cut tissue. The slide trigger  321  of the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  includes a downwardly depending flange  322  dimensioned to mechanically cooperate with a proximal portion  331  of the knife slide  330  of the knife assembly  340 . The slide trigger  321   i  may include a generally arcuate-shaped finger rest  324  which is designed to facilitate translation thereof by a user. 
   The knife assembly  340  comprises a knife slide  330 , a cutter collar  334  and a collar clamp  350 . A distal portion  332  of the knife slide  330  is operatively connected to the cutter collar  334  of the knife assembly  340 . The collar clamp  350  is abuttingly positioned against or adjacent the cutter collar  334  and is designed to maintain alignment of the knife assembly  340  during translation of a knife rod  180 . 
   With continued reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the knife rod  180  is disposed within the shaft  314  which extends distally from the cutter collar  334  to support a knife blade  370  (or other cutting mechanism) and extends proximally through the collar clamp  350  to engage the knife slide  330 . The shaft  314  is illustrated secured to a flange  352  which allows distal translation of the knife rod  180  within the shaft  314 . It is envisioned that the support flange  352  also holds the shaft  314  in alignment along the axis “A-A.” The knife blade  370  is disposed at a distal end of the knife rod  180  for cutting tissue and will be explained in more detail below. A spring  335  may be employed to bias the knife assembly  340 , in a proximal-most position relative to the housing  312  and the flange  352 . 
   With continued reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the knife assembly  340  includes a collar clamp  350  comprising clamps  350   a  and  350   b  which secure the distal portion  332  of the knife slide  330 , such that distal actuation of the trigger assembly  320  forces the elongated rod  180  distally which, in turn, moves the knife blade  370  distally through tissue, for instance. To cut tissue, the user moves the slide trigger  321  distally to advance the knife slide  330 . The clamps  350   a  and  350   b  prevent the cutter collar  334  from moving in an angular orientation with respect to axis “A-A,” thus preventing a binding effect of the cutter collar  334  on the knife rod  180 . In an exemplary embodiment, movement of the cutter collar  334  evenly translates the knife rod  180  and the knife blade  370  along axis “A-A.” Further, movement of the slide trigger  321  substantially correlates to the resulting motion of the knife blade  370 , i.e., moving the slide trigger  321  one inch distally would move the knife blade  370  one inch in the same direction. It is envisioned that various other ratios may be employed to accomplish the same effect. For example, moving the slide trigger  321  one inch distally may move the knife blade  370  one-half of one inch distally. 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , once assembled, a spring  375  is poised for compression atop a drive housing  358  upon actuation of the handle assembly  430 , including handles  440  and  450 . More particularly, movement of the handles  440  and  450  reciprocates the drive housing  358  and forces the flange  352  to reciprocate an internally disposed drive rod (not shown) which, in turn, moves jaw members  110  and  120  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the end effector assembly  100  relative to one another. Commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/460,926 and 10/116,944 disclose various conceivable drive mechanisms for reciprocating the drive rod and are both hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
   The slide-activated cutting assembly  320  of the present disclosure is an in-line, linearly reciprocating type of knife assembly  340 . By way of comparison, commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 entitled “VESSEL SEALER AND DIVIDER FOR USE WITH SMALL TROCARS AND CANNULAS,” shows and describes a trigger assembly with a rotating knife activation, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  and further described below. 
   The present disclosure also allows the operator to pull the slide trigger  321  proximally, which similarly moves the knife blade  370  in a proximal direction.  FIGS. 4A and 4B  show two envisioned versions of the slide triggers  321   a ,  321   b , respectively. The slide trigger  321   a , depicted in  FIG. 4A , is dimensioned and configured to allow pushing and pulling (i.e., moving distally and proximally) of the knife rod  180  and the knife blade  370  without the need for the user to change the position of his finger(s) when switching directions.  FIG. 4B  shows an alternate embodiment of the slide trigger  321   b , which is similarly dimensioned and configured to allow pushing and pulling of the knife rod  180  and the knife blade  370 . The slide triggers  321   a  and/or  321   b  may contain an ergonomically-enhanced gripping element  326  which facilitates gripping of the slide trigger  321   a  and  321   b  during activation. 
   Upon actuation of the slide-activated cutting assembly  320 , the knife assembly  340  progressively and selectively divides the tissue along an ideal tissue plane in a precise manner to effectively and reliably divide the tissue into two sealed halves with a tissue gap therebetween. The knife assembly  340  allows the user to quickly separate the tissue after sealing without substituting a cutting instrument through a cannula or trocar port. 
   It is envisioned that the knife blade  370  may be coupled to the same or an alternative electrosurgical energy source to facilitate separation of the tissue along the tissue seal. Moreover, it is envisioned that the angle of the knife blade  370  may be dimensioned to provide more or less aggressive cutting angles depending upon a particular purpose. For example, the knife blade  370  may be positioned at an angle which reduces “tissue wisps” associated with cutting. Moreover, the knife blade  370  may be designed having different blade geometries such as serrated, notched, perforated, hollow, concave, convex etc., depending upon a particular purpose or to achieve a particular result. 
   Once the tissue is divided into tissue halves, the jaw members  110  and  120  may be opened by re-grasping the handles  440  and  450 . Re-initiation or re-grasping of the handles  440  and  450  reduces the grasping/gripping pressure which, in turn, returns the jaw members  110  and  120  to the open, pre-activated position. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate a prior art embodiment of an endoscopic bipolar forceps shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. The forceps  10  is shown for use with various surgical procedures and generally includes a housing  20 , a handle assembly  30 , a rotation assembly  80 , a rotating trigger assembly  70  and an end effector assembly  100  which mutually cooperate to grasp, seal and divide tubular vessels and vascular tissue. The forceps  10  also includes a shaft  12  which has a distal end  16  dimensioned to mechanically engage the end effector assembly  100  and a proximal end  14  which mechanically engages the housing  20 . The proximal end  14  of shaft  12  is received within the housing  20 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , the forceps  300  may also include an electrosurgical cable  610  which connects the forceps  300  to a source of electrosurgical energy, e.g., a generator (not shown). Generators such as those sold by Valleylab—a division of Tyco Healthcare LP, located in Boulder Colorado may be used as a source of electrosurgical energy, e.g., FORCE EZ™ Electrosurgical Generator, FORCE FX™ Electrosurgical Generator, FORCE 1C™, FORCE2™ Generator, SurgiStat™ II. One such system is described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,399 entitled “ELECTROSURGICAL GENERATOR WITH ADAPTIVE POWER CONTROL,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Other systems have been described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,003 entitled “BIPOLAR ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT FOR SEALING VESSELS,” the entire contents of which are also incorporated by reference herein. Further details of the electrosurgical cable  610  are illustrated in Prior Art  FIG. 7  and are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
   The generator may include various safety and performance features including isolated output and independent activation of accessories. The electrosurgical generator may include Valleylab&#39;s Instant Response™ technology features which provide an advanced feedback system to sense changes in tissue 200 times per second and adjust voltage and current to maintain appropriate power. The Instant Response™ technology is believed to provide one or more of the following benefits to surgical procedure:
         Consistent clinical effect through all tissue types;   Reduced thermal spread and risk of collateral tissue damage;   Less need to “turn up the generator”; and   Designed for the minimally invasive environment.       

   Internal components of the forceps  300  are similar to the internal components illustrated in Prior Art  FIG. 7  and described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926 and are hereby incorporated by reference herein. For example,  FIG. 6  illustrates the cable  610  internally divided into cable leads  610   a ,  610   b  and  610   c  which each transmit electrosurgical energy through their respective feed paths through the forceps  10  to the end effector assembly  100 . Additionally, the handle  40  may include a pair of upper flanges  45  which cooperate with the handle  40  to actuate the drive assembly  150 . More particularly, the upper flange  45  may also include a force-actuating flange or drive flange, which abuts the drive assembly  150  such that pivotal movement of the handle  40  forces the actuating flange against the drive assembly  150  which, in turn, closes the jaw members  110  and  120 . 
   As best shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the end effector assembly  100  which is envisioned to be commonly associated with both the prior art forceps  10  as well as the presently envisioned forceps  300 , includes opposing jaw members  110  and  120  which cooperate to effectively grasp tissue (not shown) for sealing purposes. The end effector assembly  100  may be designed as a unilateral assembly, i.e., jaw member  120  is fixed relative to the shaft  12  and jaw member  110  pivots about a pivot pin  103  to grasp tissue or a bilateral assembly where both jaw members  110 ,  120  move relative to one another. Jaw member  110  includes an outer insulative housing  114  which secures a tissue contacting surface  112 . Likewise, jaw member  120  includes an outer insulative housing  124  which secures a tissue contacting surface  122  in opposing relation to surface  112 . As such, surfaces  112  and  122  grasp tissue therebetween when the jaw members  110  and  120  are actuated. 
   It is envisioned that the housing  312 , the rotation assembly  80 , slide-activated cutting assembly  320 , the movable handle  440 , the fixed handle  450 , and their respective inter-cooperating component parts along with the shaft  314  and the end effector assembly  100  are all assembled during the manufacturing process to form a partially and/or fully disposable forceps  300 . For example, the shaft  314  and/or the end effector assembly  100  may be disposable and, therefore, selectively/releasably engagable with the housing  312  and the rotation assembly  80  to form a partially disposable forceps  300  and/or the entire forceps  300  may be disposable after use. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the slide-activated cutting assembly  320  may be disposed on an in-line surgical forceps  300   b.    
   While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope of the disclosure.