Surgical stapler anvil with directionally biased staple pockets

Abstract

A method of forming staples includes firing staples supported in a staple cartridge into an anvil operatively coupled to the staple cartridge. The method also involves forming the staples in biased staple-forming pockets defined in the anvil such that both legs of each formed staple are positioned on one side of a backspan of the respective staple. The one side of the backspan is positioned toward a longitudinal axis of the anvil.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An end effector for a surgical stapling apparatus, the end effector comprising:
 a cartridge assembly supporting a plurality of staples, each staple of the plurality of staples including a backspan, a first leg, and a second leg, the first and second legs extending from the backspan; and   an anvil assembly coupled to the cartridge assembly, the anvil assembly including an anvil having opposed side surfaces, the anvil defining a knife slot and a plurality of biased staple-forming pockets disposed between the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets positioned to form the first and second legs of a respective staple of the plurality of staples on one side of the backspan of the respective staple, the one side of the backspan being positioned toward the knife slot of the anvil relative to the opposed side surfaces of the anvil.   
     
     
         2 . The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets is arranged in at least one linear row. 
     
     
         3 . The end effector of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one linear row includes an inner row and an outer row. 
     
     
         4 . The end effector of  claim 3 , wherein the inner and outer rows are longitudinally offset from one another. 
     
     
         5 . The end effector of  claim 1 , further comprising a dissecting tip that extends distally from the anvil. 
     
     
         6 . The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets includes a first staple-leg forming cavity and a second staple-leg forming cavity, each of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities including a guide portion and a spine portion, the guide portion configured to funnel one of the first or second legs of one of the staples of the plurality of staples toward the spine portion. 
     
     
         7 . The end effector of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second staple-leg forming cavities are separated by a central bridge portion. 
     
     
         8 . The end effector of  claim 7 , wherein the central bridge portion ascends from a bottom surface of the first and second staple-leg forming cavities. 
     
     
         9 . The end effector of  claim 8 , wherein each biased staple-forming pocket includes an end wall that extends linearly along the first and second staple-leg forming cavities and the central bridge portion on a medial side toward the knife slot. 
     
     
         10 . The end effector of  claim 9 , wherein the anvil defines a longitudinal axis that extends along a length of the anvil, and wherein the end wall is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the anvil. 
     
     
         11 . A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
 a housing assembly; and   a shaft assembly operatively coupled to the housing assembly and supporting an end effector, the end effector including:   a staple cartridge supporting a plurality of staples, each staple of the plurality of staples including a backspan, a first leg, and a second leg, the first and second legs extending from the backspan; and   an anvil having opposed side surfaces and defining a knife slot and a plurality of biased staple-forming pockets positioned adjacent to the knife slot, the knife slot and the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets disposed between the opposed side surfaces of the anvil, each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets configured to form the first and second legs of a respective staple of the plurality of staples on one side of the backspan of the respective staple, the one side of the backspan being positioned toward the knife slot of the anvil relative to the opposed side surfaces of the anvil.   
     
     
         12 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets is arranged in linear rows on opposite sides of the knife slot. 
     
     
         13 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the linear rows includes an inner row and an outer row on each of the opposite sides of the knife slot. 
     
     
         14 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a dissecting tip that extends distally from the anvil. 
     
     
         15 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein each biased staple-forming pocket of the plurality of biased staple-forming pockets includes a first staple-leg forming cavity and a second staple-leg forming cavity. 
     
     
         16 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second staple-leg forming cavities are separated by a central bridge portion. 
     
     
         17 . The surgical stapling apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein each biased staple-forming pocket includes an end wall disposed in parallel relation to the knife slot. 
     
     
         18 . A method of forming staples, the method comprising:
 firing staples supported in a staple cartridge into an anvil operatively coupled to the staple cartridge; and   forming the staples in biased staple-forming pockets defined in the anvil such that both legs of each formed staple are positioned on one side of a backspan of the respective staple, the one side of the backspan being positioned toward a longitudinal axis of the anvil.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein forming the staples includes forming the staples in linear rows on both sides of a knife slot defined in the anvil. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein forming the staples includes forming the staples in longitudinally offset linear rows.