Patent ID: 8277475

Claim:
A laparoscopic scissor instrument comprising: a handle assembly; an elongate shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly, and a distal end; a scissor assembly positioned at the distal end of the elongate shaft; the scissor assembly comprising: a first scissor blade comprising: a distal cutting portion, and a proximal actuation portion, the actuation portion comprising a pivot and an actuation protrusion; and a second scissor blade comprising: a distal cutting portion, and a proximal actuation portion comprising a pivot and an actuation protrusion; and an actuation mechanism extending through at least a portion of the elongate shaft and slidable within the elongate shaft, the actuation mechanism operatively coupling the handle assembly to the scissor assembly, the actuation mechanism comprising: an actuation shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; and a scissor actuator at the distal end of the actuation shaft, the scissor actuator comprising: a first actuator plate engaging the actuation protrusion of the first scissor blade; and a second actuator plate engaging the actuation protrusion of the second scissor blade, and wherein the first actuator plate comprises a compression bend and the second actuator plate comprises a compression bend positioned to contact and engage the compression bend of the first actuator plate and generate a bias force between the first scissor blade and the second scissor blade.