Use of silicone elastomer for improvement of intestinal clamp

An intestinal clamp was improved by application of a silicone elastomer measuring 3, 4 and 5 millimeters in thickness to the nip surfaces to reduce nip force or to make pressure distribution more uniform. For the 1 kilogram weight, the output from the pressure sensor, which was placed on the blade, was decreased as the thickness of the silicone elastomer was increased. Pressures loaded on central and marginal regions of the large intestine were more than seven times greater than that on the mesenteric region with use of a conventional clamp. In contrast, pressures on all of the mesenteric, central and marginal regions were relatively low and uniform with use of clamps equipped with silicone elastomer. These results indicate that the clamp equipped with the silicone elastomer damages tissues only to a small extent because of the dispersion effect of the pressure and the uniformity of the pressure distribution.