Medical Instrument

Abstract

A hydraulically actuated medical instrument includes an elongated shaft having proximal and distal ends, a hydraulically actuated end effector at the distal end of the shaft and a fluid flow path extending through the shaft to the end effector. The shaft may be capable of an angled configuration where at least a portion of the shaft is manually movable to a direction in which it extends at an angle to another portion of the shaft. The end effector is not limited to a linear configuration and at least a portion of an elongated end effector extends at an angle relative to another portion of the end effector as is needed or desirable for the particular procedure to be performed.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A hydraulically actuated end effector for an endoscopic medical instrument, the end effector comprising:
 a pair of elongated jaws hydraulically movable between an open position and a closed position, each jaw having an elongated tissue engaging surface thereon that faces the tissue engaging surface of the other jaw for grasping tissue therebetween when in the closed position, the elongated tissue engaging surface of at least one of the jaws having at least a first portion and a second portion, the second portion located distally of the first portion and wherein at least one of the first and second portions of the at least one of the jaws is comprised of a malleable material which can be manually manipulated by the user to change the relationship between the first and second portions of the tissue engaging surface of the at least one of the jaws.   
     
     
         19 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the second portion extends at an angle that is between 0° and 180° relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         20 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the first and second portions of the at least one of the jaws are comprised of a malleable material. 
     
     
         21 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the elongated tissue engaging surfaces of both jaws having at least a first portion and a second portion. 
     
     
         22 . The end effector of  claim 21  wherein the first portions of the elongated tissue engaging surfaces of both jaws are comprised of a malleable material. 
     
     
         23 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the first and second portions of the elongated tissue engaging surfaces of both jaws are comprised of a malleable material. 
     
     
         24 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the second portion of the tissue engaging surface of the at least one of the jaws extends in a lateral direction. 
     
     
         25 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the second portion of the tissue engaging surface of the at least one of the jaws extends in a vertical direction. 
     
     
         26 . The end effector of  claim 18  wherein the second portion of the tissue engaging surface of the at least one of the jaws extends in a lateral and vertical direction. 
     
     
         27 . A hydraulically actuated end effector for an endoscopic medical instrument, the end effector comprising:
 a pair of elongated jaws hydraulically movable between an open position and a closed position, each jaw having an elongated tissue engaging surface thereon that faces the tissue engaging surface of the other jaw for grasping tissue therebetween when in the closed position, the elongated tissue engaging surface of each jaw having at least a first portion and a second portion, the second portions located distally of the first portions and extending at an angle that is between 0° and 180° relative to the first portions and wherein at least a portion of each jaw is comprised of a malleable material which allows the user to manually change the angle between the first and second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces.   
     
     
         28 . The end effector of  claim 27  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a lateral direction relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         29 . The end effector of  claim 27  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a vertical direction relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         30 . The end effector of  claim 27  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a lateral and vertical direction relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         31 . A hydraulically actuated end effector for an endoscopic medical instrument, the end effector comprising:
 a pair of elongated jaws hydraulically movable between an open position and a closed position, each jaw having an elongated tissue engaging surface thereon that faces the tissue engaging surface of the other jaw for grasping tissue therebetween when in the closed position, the elongated tissue engaging surface of each jaw having at least a first portion and a second portion, the second portion located distally of and extending at an angle that is between 0° and 180° relative to the first portion and wherein the first and second portions of the jaws are comprised of a malleable material which can be manually manipulated by the user to change the angle between the first and second portions of the tissue engaging surface of the at least one of the jaws.   
     
     
         32 . The end effector of  claim 31  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a lateral direction relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         33 . The end effector of  claim 31  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a vertical direction relative to the first portion. 
     
     
         34 . The end effector of  claim 31  wherein the second portions of the tissue engaging surfaces extend in a lateral and vertical direction relative to the first portion.