Patent ID: 7270660

Claim:
A bipolar electrosurgical system for sealing and cutting tissue, comprising: an electrosurgical generator; a tissue sealing instrument including a chassis having a longitudinal axis defined therethrough and first and second end effectors attached thereto, one of said first and second end effectors being movable along said longitudinal axis relative to the other of said first and second end effectors from a first position for positioning tissue therebetween to a second position for grasping tissue between said first and second end effectors, wherein said first and second end effectors include complimenting vessel sealing electrodes which partially matingly engage one another, said electrodes adapted to be connected to the electrosurgical generator such that the electrodes are capable of sealing and cutting tissue disposed therebetween upon activation of said electrodes; an activator for moving said end effectors from the first to second positions; a sensor disposed within the electrosurgical generator which measures the impedance across the tissue held between said end effectors; means for selectively applying electrosurgical energy from the electrosurgical generator to said end effectors in response to the impedance measurement across the tissue from said sensor; and wherein the chassis is operatively connected to at least one tube.