PNEUMATICALLY POWERED SURGICAL CUTTING AND FASTENING INSTRUMENT WITH REPLACEABLE POWER SOURCES

摘要

A surgical instrument that includes a handle assembly that removably supports a source of pneumatic power. A pneumatically powered drive system is operably supported by the surgical instrument and is configured to be fluidically coupled to the source of pneumatic power. The handle assembly may be provided with a lockout system that is configured to block connection of the source of pneumatic power to the portion of the handle assembly and the pneumatically powered drive system after the source of pneumatic power is disconnected from the portion of the handle assembly and the pneumatically powered drive system a predetermined number of times. In alternative embodiments the handle assembly may be provided with attachment components that either break off or are otherwise disabled to prevent the reattachment of the source of pneumatic power to the handle assembly after the source has been detached therefrom.