Patent ID: 8672206

Claim:
A surgical system, comprising: a handle housing; a jaw assembly including: a removable cartridge assembly including a plurality of fasteners and a longitudinal slot defined therein; an anvil having a fastener forming surface thereon, the cartridge assembly and anvil being mounted for movement with respect to one another between an open position and a closed position in close cooperative alignment for clamping tissue; an actuation sled supported within the cartridge assembly, the actuation sled being movable to urge the plurality of fasteners from the cartridge; a drive beam including a vertical support strut and a cam member supported on the vertical support strut, the cam member being positioned to translate relative to the anvil to maintain the anvil in the closed position during firing of the fasteners and the vertical support strut being positioned to abut the actuation sled; and a drive screw supported within the removable cartridge assembly, the drive screw having a threaded portion, wherein the drive beam is threadably coupled to the threaded portion of the drive screw such that rotation of the drive screw imparts longitudinal movement of the drive beam; and an elongated body configured to interconnect the handle housing and the jaw assembly, the elongated body including a flexible drive shaft mechanically coupling the drive screw to an actuation shaft of the handle assembly, wherein the drive shaft transfers rotational motion of the actuation shaft to the drive screw, the elongated body including a flexible portion, and wherein the flexible drive shaft is housed within the flexible portion.