Bi-directional articulating surgical shaver

Abstract

A surgical instrument for cutting a tissue and related methods includes a shaft, a cutting member, and an axial adjustment coupling. The shaft and the cutting member are configured to articulate from a first configuration toward a second configuration and respectively have distal and proximal shaft ends distal and proximal member ends. The cutting member is disposed within the shaft and configured to cyclically move relative to the shaft. The axial adjustment coupling is configured to longitudinally move the proximal member end relative to the proximal shaft end while articulating the shaft and the cutting member from the first configuration toward the second configuration. Thereby, the axial adjustment coupling inhibits movement of the distal member end relative to the distal shaft end for maintaining alignment between a shaft window opening in the shaft and a cutting window opening in the cutting member.

I/We claim: 
     
         1 . A surgical instrument, comprising:
 (a) a shaft configured to articulate from a first configuration toward a first articulated configuration, including:
 (i) a distal shaft end, 
 (ii) a proximal shaft end, 
 (iii) a shaft sidewall extending from the distal shaft end to the proximal shaft end and configured to move the distal shaft end relative to the proximal shaft, and 
 (iv) a shaft window opening extending through the shaft sidewall; 
   (b) a cutting member disposed within the shaft and configured to cyclically move relative to the shaft, wherein the cutting member is further configured to articulate within the shaft from the first configuration toward the second configuration, including:
 (i) a distal member end, 
 (ii) a proximal member end, 
 (iii) a member sidewall extending from the distal member end to the proximal member end and configured to move the distal member end relative to the proximal member end, 
 (iv) a cutting window opening extending through the member sidewall and configured to align with the shaft window during cyclical movement relative thereto and receive a tissue for cutting, and 
   (c) an axial adjustment coupling longitudinally securing the shaft relative to the cutting member and configured to longitudinally move the proximal member end relative to the proximal shaft end while articulating the shaft and the cutting member from the first configuration toward the second configuration to inhibit movement of the distal member end relative to the distal shaft end for maintaining alignment between the shaft window opening and the cutting window opening.   
     
     
         2 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the cutting member further includes a suction lumen extending longitudinally therethrough and in fluid communication with the cutting window opening, wherein the cutting window opening is configured to align with the shaft opening during cyclical movement relative thereto such that the cutting window opening and the shaft opening are in fluid communication for suctioning the tissue therethrough. 
     
     
         3 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the axial adjustment coupling longitudinally biases the distal member end toward the distal shaft end. 
     
     
         4 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , further comprising at least a portion of a motorized drive assembly, wherein the axial adjustment coupling rotatably secures the cutting member relative to the at least the portion of the motorized drive assembly to inhibit relative rotation therebetween. 
     
     
         5 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft is configured to articulate from the first configuration toward a third configuration, and wherein the cutting member is further configured to articulate within the shaft from the first configuration toward the third configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The surgical instrument of  claim 5 , wherein the first configuration is a first straight configuration, wherein the second configuration is a first articulated configuration, and wherein the third configuration is a second articulated configuration, and wherein the second articulated configuration is bent opposite from the first articulated configuration. 
     
     
         7 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , further comprising an articulation mechanism operatively connected to the shaft and the cutting member and configured to articulate the shaft and the cutting member from the first configuration toward the second configuration. 
     
     
         8 . The surgical instrument of  claim 7 , wherein the articulation mechanism includes a elongate member connected to the shaft, and wherein the elongate member is configured to be pulled and thereby articulate the shaft from the first configuration toward the second configuration. 
     
     
         9 . The surgical instrument of  claim 8 , wherein the shaft sidewall is configured to engage the member sidewall while moving from the first configuration toward the second configuration to urge the cutting member from the first configuration toward the second configuration. 
     
     
         10 . The surgical instrument of  claim 8 , further comprising a body assembly having the shaft and the cutting member distally extending therefrom, wherein the articulation mechanism further includes an articulation input positioned on the body assembly and operatively connected to the elongate member, wherein the articulation input is configured to selectively urge the elongate member to direct the shaft from the first configuration toward the second configuration. 
     
     
         11 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the shaft configured to articulate is formed from a flexible material. 
     
     
         12 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the shaft configured to articulate has a plurality of gaps positioned longitudinally therealong, wherein the plurality of gaps are respectively configured to at least partially close together in the second configuration. 
     
     
         13 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , further comprising a body assembly including a motorized drive assembly, wherein the shaft and the cutting member distally extend from the body assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The surgical instrument of  claim 13 , wherein the motorized drive assembly includes a drive output member, and wherein the axial adjustment coupling rotatably secures the cutting member relative to the drive output member to inhibit relative rotation therebetween. 
     
     
         15 . The surgical instrument of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft is a shaft tube and the cutting member is a cutting member tube. 
     
     
         16 . A surgical instrument, comprising:
 (a) a body assembly including a motorized drive assembly having a drive output member;   (b) a shaft distally extending from the body assembly and configured to articulate from a straight configuration toward an articulated configuration, including:
 (i) a distal shaft end, 
 (ii) a proximal shaft end, 
 (iii) a shaft sidewall extending from the distal shaft end to the proximal shaft end and configured to move the distal shaft end relative to the proximal shaft, and 
 (iv) a shaft window opening extending through the shaft sidewall; 
   (c) a cutting member disposed within the shaft and configured to cyclically move relative to the shaft, wherein the cutting member is further configured to articulate within the shaft from the straight configuration toward the articulated configuration, including:
 (i) a distal member end, 
 (ii) a proximal member end, 
 (iii) a member sidewall extending from the distal member end to the proximal member end and configured to move the distal member end relative to the proximal member end, 
 (iv) a cutting window opening extending through the member sidewall and configured to align with the shaft window during cyclical movement relative thereto and receive a tissue for cutting, and 
   (d) an axial adjustment coupling longitudinally securing the shaft relative to the cutting member and rotatably securing the cutting member relative to the drive output member, wherein the axial adjustment coupling biases the distal member end toward the distal shaft end and is configured to longitudinally move the proximal member end relative to the proximal shaft end while articulating the shaft and the cutting member from the straight configuration toward the articulated configuration to inhibit movement of the distal member end relative to the distal shaft end for maintaining alignment between the shaft window opening and the cutting window opening.   
     
     
         17 . The surgical instrument of  claim 16 , further comprising an articulation mechanism having an elongate member connected to the shaft, and wherein the elongate member is configured to be pulled and thereby articulate the shaft from the straight configuration toward the articulated configuration. 
     
     
         18 . A method of accessing a tissue with a surgical instrument, wherein the surgical instrument includes a shaft extending from a distal shaft end to a proximal shaft end and a cutting member extending from a distal member end to a proximal member end, the cutting member disposed within the shaft and configured to cyclically move relative to the shaft, wherein the shaft and the cutting member are configured to articulate from a straight configuration toward an articulated configuration, the method comprising:
 (a) articulating the shaft and the cutting member from the straight configuration toward the articulated configuration;   (b) longitudinally moving the proximal member end relative to the proximal shaft end with an axial adjustment coupling thereby maintaining a longitudinal position of the distal member end relative to the distal shaft end throughout articulation from the straight configuration toward the articulated configuration; and   (c) accessing the tissue with the shaft and the cutting member in the articulated configuration.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising biasing the distal member end of the cutting member toward the distal shaft end of the shaft. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising rotating the cutting member relative to the shaft within the shaft while inhibiting rotation of the cutting member relative to a drive output member of a motorized drive assembly with the axial adjustment coupling connected therebetween.