Surgical staple buttress with integral adhesive for releasably attaching to a surgical stapler

Abstract

A surgical stapler end effector assembly comprises a staple cartridge, an anvil, and a buttress assembly. The staple cartridge comprises a plurality of staples and a deck. The staple cartridge is operable to drive the staples through the deck. The anvil is movable from an open position toward the staple cartridge to reach a closed position. The anvil includes an underside having staple forming surface configured to receive staples driven through the deck. The buttress assembly comprises a buttress body, an adhesive material, and a plurality of reinforcement strands. The reinforcement strands are configured to engage one or more staples fired through the buttress body.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A buttress assembly that is configured to be releasably secured to a surgical stapler end effector comprising a staple cartridge and an anvil, the buttress assembly comprising:
 (a) a buttress body;   (b) a first plurality of reinforcement strands woven through the buttress body in a plurality of discrete regions;   (c) a second plurality of reinforcement strands extending along a length of the buttress body; and   (d) a third plurality of reinforcement strands extending transversely relative to the length of the buttress body;   wherein at least one of the second plurality of reinforcement strands and at least one of the third plurality of reinforcement strands intersect in a plane that includes at least one of the plurality of discrete regions.   
     
     
         22 . The buttress assembly of  claim 21 , further comprising adhesive material that is configured to releasably secure the buttress body to a deck of the staple cartridge or to an underside of the anvil. 
     
     
         23 . The buttress assembly of  claim 22 , wherein the adhesive comprises pressure sensitive adhesive. 
     
     
         24 . The buttress assembly of  claim 21 , wherein the reinforcement strands comprise polyglactin 910. 
     
     
         25 . The buttress assembly of  claim 21 , wherein the buttress body comprises a pair of portions laterally spaced apart from each other by a gap. 
     
     
         26 . The buttress assembly of  claim 25 , wherein at least one of the third plurality of reinforcement strands extends across the gap. 
     
     
         27 . The buttress assembly of  claim 22 , wherein the buttress assembly further comprises an intermediate layer positioned between the buttress body and the adhesive material, wherein the intermediate layer is impermeable or semi-impermeable. 
     
     
         28 . The buttress assembly of  claim 27 , wherein at least one of the reinforcement strands is positioned on or through the intermediate layer. 
     
     
         29 . The buttress assembly of  claim 22 , wherein the buttress assembly further comprises a film layer positioned over the adhesive material, wherein the film layer is impermeable. 
     
     
         30 . The buttress assembly of  claim 29 , wherein the film layer is positioned over the plurality of reinforcement strands. 
     
     
         31 . The buttress assembly of  claim 29 , wherein the film layer defines a plurality of pockets, wherein the pockets are discretely arranged on the film layer and wherein the pockets are configured to contain the adhesive material. 
     
     
         32 . A surgical stapler end effector comprising:
 (a) an anvil;   (b) a staple cartridge configured to cooperate with the anvil to clamp and staple tissue;   (c) a retainer assembly configured for use with the staple cartridge, wherein the retainer assembly includes a plurality of protrusions; and   (d) the buttress assembly of  claim 31 , wherein the buttress assembly is configured to releasably engage the retainer assembly such that the protrusions align with the pockets of the film layer.   
     
     
         33 . The buttress assembly of  claim 21 , wherein at least one of the reinforcement strands is configured to engage at least one of a crown or a leg of a staple deployed from the surgical stapler end effector. 
     
     
         34 . The buttress assembly of  claim 21 , further comprising a plurality of heat sensitive strands woven through the buttress body. 
     
     
         35 . The buttress assembly of  claim 34 , wherein a pair of the heat sensitive strands are woven parallel to each other along the length of the buttress body. 
     
     
         36 . The buttress assembly of  claim 34 , wherein the plurality of heat sensitive strands has a first melting temperature and the buttress body has a second melting temperature, where the first melting temperature is lower than the second melting temperature. 
     
     
         37 . The buttress assembly of  claim 34 , wherein the plurality of heat sensitive strands comprise polydioxanone and the buttress body comprises polyglactin 910. 
     
     
         38 . A buttress assembly comprising:
 (a) a buttress body;   (b) a first plurality of reinforcement strands woven through the buttress body in a plurality of discrete regions;   (c) a second plurality of reinforcement strands woven through the buttress body and extending along a length of the buttress body; and   (d) a third plurality of reinforcement strands woven through the buttress body and extending transversely relative to the length of the buttress body;   wherein at least one of the second plurality of reinforcement strands and at least one of the third plurality of reinforcement strands are interwoven with at least one of the first plurality of reinforcement strands.   
     
     
         39 . The buttress assembly of  claim 38 , further comprising pressure sensitive adhesive, wherein the reinforcement strands comprise polyglactin 910. 
     
     
         40 . A buttress assembly comprising:
 (a) a buttress body;   (b) a plurality of first reinforcement strands woven through the buttress body in a plurality of discrete regions;   (c) a second reinforcement strand woven through the buttress body; and   (d) a third reinforcement strand woven through the buttress body;   wherein the second reinforcement strand and the third reinforcement strand intersect and pass through at least one of the plurality of discrete regions.