Buttress attachment features for surgical stapling apparatus

Abstract

An end effector assembly for use with a surgical stapler, comprising a staple cartridge having a tissue contacting surface, an anvil plate having a tissue contacting surface, a buttress material releasably disposed on the tissue contacting surfaces of each of the staple cartridge and the anvil plate, and an epoxy positioned onto the tissue contacting surfaces of each of the staple cartridge and anvil plate defining an attachment zone configured to retain the respective buttress material atop the respective tissue contacting surfaces.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapling apparatus, the staple cartridge comprising:
 a cartridge body including a tissue contacting surface defining a plurality of staple retaining slots, the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body being fabricated from a first material;   a staple disposed within each staple retaining slot of the cartridge body;   a buttress material releasably disposed on the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body; and   an epoxy positioned on the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body defining an attachment zone configured to retain the buttress material atop the tissue contacting surface.   
     
     
         2 . The staple cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the epoxy is an ultraviolet light curable epoxy. 
     
     
         3 . The staple cartridge of  claim 2 , wherein the tissue contacting surface has a first and second outer edge. 
     
     
         4 . The staple cartridge of  claim 3 , wherein the tissue contacting surface has a distal end such that a distal attachment zone is positioned from the first outer edge to the second outer edge. 
     
     
         5 . The staple cartridge of  claim 4 , wherein the tissue contacting surface has a proximal end such that a first proximal attachment zone is positioned parallel to the first outer edge and second proximal attachment zone is positioned parallel to the second outer edge. 
     
     
         6 . The staple cartridge of  claim 5 , wherein the staple cartridge defines a central longitudinal slot configured to enable passage of a knife blade therethrough. 
     
     
         7 . The end effector of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second proximal attachment zones are positioned distally from a proximal end of the central longitudinal slot. 
     
     
         8 . The end effector of  claim 6 , wherein the distal attachment zone is positioned proximally for a distal end of the central longitudinal slot. 
     
     
         9 . The staple cartridge of  claim 7 , wherein the buttress material has perforations at the proximal end of the tissue contacting surface such that the perforations are positioned perpendicularly and distally from the first and second proximal attachment zone. 
     
     
         10 . The staple cartridge of  claim 8 , wherein the buttress material has perforations at the distal end of the tissue contacting surface such that the perforations are positioned parallel and proximal from the at least one distal attachment zone. 
     
     
         11 . The staple cartridge of  claim 3 , wherein a plurality of attachment zones are disposed intermittently along the first and second outer edges. 
     
     
         12 . The staple cartridge of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of attachment zones are concentric. 
     
     
         13 . The staple cartridge of  claim 12 , wherein the buttress material has perforations such that the perforations surround the plurality of attachment zones. 
     
     
         14 . An end effector assembly for a surgical stapler, the end effector comprising:
 the staple cartridge according to  claim 1 , the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body being fabricated from a first material;   an anvil plate having a tissue contacting surface, the tissue contacting surface of the anvil plate being fabricated from a second material that is dissimilar from the first material;   a buttress material releasably disposed on the tissue contacting surfaces of each of the staple cartridge and the anvil plate; and   an epoxy positioned onto the tissue contacting surfaces of each of the staple cartridge and anvil plate defining an attachment zone configured to retain the respective buttress material atop the respective tissue contacting surfaces.   
     
     
         15 . The end effector of  claim 14 , wherein the staple cartridge and the anvil plate have a central longitudinal slot configured to enable passage of a knife blade therethrough. 
     
     
         16 . The end effector of  claim 14 , wherein the buttress material on each of the tissue contacting surfaces of each of the staple cartridge and the anvil plate has perforations positioned perpendicular to the central longitudinal slot. 
     
     
         17 . A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
 a cartridge body including a tissue contacting surface defining a plurality of staple retaining slots;   a staple disposed with each staple retaining slot of the cartridge body;   a substantially circular buttress material releasably disposed on the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body, the buttress material including an inner peripheral edge, an outer peripheral edge, and a middle portion extending between the inner and outer peripheral edges; and   an epoxy positioned on the tissue contacting surface of the cartridge body defining an attachment zone configured to retain the buttress material atop the tissue contacting surface.   
     
     
         18 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the epoxy is an ultraviolet light curable epoxy. 
     
     
         19 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the buttress material includes perforations arranged to allow the buttress material to separate from the cartridge body.