Patent ID: 8197472

Claim:
A surgical apparatus for welding and severing tissue, comprising: first and second relatively moveable elongated jaws having respective jaw-facing surfaces; an elongated shaft having a distal end, wherein the first and second jaws are attached to the distal end; a first electrically conductive heating element for tissue-welding including at least two segments spaced apart from each other, the first electrically conductive heating element being disposed on the jaw-facing surface of the first jaw, the first heating element being adapted to heat up to a first temperature upon application of power; and a second electrically conductive heating element for severing tissue, the second electrically conductive heating element being secured to the first jaw and is disposed between the spaced apart segments of the first heating element, the second heating element being adapted to heat up to a second temperature greater than the first temperature upon the application of power; wherein one of the at least two segments of the first electrically conductive heating element has a first tissue-contacting side, and the second electrically conductive heating element has a second tissue-contacting side; and wherein the surgical apparatus further comprises a control for closing the jaws and for activating both the first electrically conductive heating element and the second electrically conductive heating element so that the first and second electrically conductive heating elements deliver heat simultaneously, and wherein the control is moveable in a direction to both close the jaws and to activate both the first and second electrically conductive heating elements.