Surgical manipulator

Claim 1

A surgical instrument having a central axis, comprising a pair of prongs, each having a first end and a second end, said first ends being integrally connected to one another at a joinder, said second ends being on opposite sides of said axis; bias means resiliently biasing said prongs to move said second ends in opposite directions away from said axis in a plane of flexure which includes said axis; a manipulation surface on each of said prongs spaced from said point of joinder; a spindle including a knuckle rest surface on said instrument closer to the joinder than the manipulation surface; a pair of jaws on the prongs which move toward one another when the manipulation surfaces are pressed toward one another; a hinge carried by each of said jaws; a pair of crosslinks joined by a pivot between their ends to form a scfissor-type linkage, one of the ends of each of the crosslinks being joined to a respective one of said hinges; an operative element carried by each of said crosslinks farther from the prongs than the pivot; the manipulation surfaces and the knucles rest surface being axially spaced from one another so that when the thumb and index finger of the surgeon press against respective manipulation surfaces, the knuckle rest surface bears against his hand near the knuckle at the base of his index finger, the manipulation surfaces, when the jaws are brought toward one another, forming a substantially regular geometric surface circumferential around the axis and no more out of round than a hexagon, the pressing together of the manipulator surfaces causing the scissor linkage to close to move the operative elements relative to one another, the knuckle rest surface being a continuous, substantially regular geometric surface circumferential around the axis and no more out of round than a hexagon.