GB946255A - Surgical clips and applicator means - Google Patents

Abstract

946,255. Suturing appliances. A. M. BROWN. Feb. 24, 1961 [Feb. 24, 1960], No. 6938/61. Heading A5R. A surgical clip applicator comprises a body having a guideway 28 for receiving clips 30 in aligned end-to-end relation, means 34 for urging clips through the guideway and jaws 62 with seats 63 located in advance of the guideway by a distance equal to the length of a clip for receiving the front ends of a clip. The clip applicator body comprises upper and lower sections 14, 16 hinged together at the rear end and releasably secured together by a clamping band 25. The lower section has a longitudinal recess defining the guideway 28 for flat clips of U-shape or V-shape and the upper section has a longitudinal recess 32 in which a spring-pressed push member 34 is slidable to push the clips from the guideway at the front end. Forceps comprising strips 54, 56 attached at each side of the lower portion have jaws 62 spaced from the front of the guideway by a distance equal to the length of a clip. The leading clip is held between seats 63 on the forcep jaws and the front end of the guideway. During application of the clip the applicator is held at a small angle to the skin so that points 72 projecting out of the plane of the legs and rear end of the clip enter the skin. As the forcep jaws are pressed together the clip is deformed to secure the edges of the wound. The clips remaining in the applicator are prevented from leaving the guideway by an abutment 50 which may be lifted by applying pressure to a lever 46 against a spring 44. The push member 34 has a bifurcated front end 35 which passes on each side of the abutment as the last clip is pushed out of the guideway for use. A pin 40 on the push member is normally slidable in a slot 38 in the upper section 16 but may be rotated into a notch (not shown) at the rear of the slot to hold the push member in retracted position. A clip remover 77 (Fig. 25) comprises spring strips 78, 80 secured at one end and forming jaws 96, 98 at the other, the strips being so curved that on pressing them together at divergent portions 84, 85, the jaws move apart. In use the jaws are placed between the legs of a clip and moved apart to detach the clip from the wound. For loading the applicator, the body sections of the applicator are opened and the clips glued to a rod 74 (Fig. 2) are inserted in the guideway. The sections are then closed and secured and the rod is withdrawn.