Patent ID: 7326223

Claim:
A surgical clip with an integral cutting guide, comprising: (a) a first leg and a second leg, each of said legs having an inner vessel-clamping surface, an outer surface and a pair of opposing side surfaces flanking said inner and outer surfaces, said inner surfaces being positioned in opposition to each other; (b) a flexible hinge section integrally disposed between and joining the proximal ends of said first and second legs; (c) at least one cutting guide extending outward from and disposed along at least a portion of the length of at least one of said opposing side surfaces on at least one of said first and second legs, the at least one cutting guide being a raised flat platform having an angular cross-sectional profile in a plane extending through both opposing side surfaces and substantially parallel to said inner vessel-clamping surface; and (d) a female locking member positioned on the distal end of said first leg and a male locking member positioned on the distal end of said second leg, said female and male locking members being formed whereby when said first and second leg members are moved from an open position to a closed position about said hinge section, said male locking member is lockingly engaged in said female locking member so as to removably lock said first and second leg members of said surgical clip in said closed position, wherein the at least one cutting guide includes a substantially flat exterior edge to provide a stable platform for guiding a cutting implement.