Surgical accessories are presented in vivo and used by surgical tools in
the surgical site to perform additional tasks without the need to remove
the tools from the surgical site for tool change or instrument loading.
Examples of in vivo accessories include fastening accessories such as
surgical clips for use with a clip applier, single working member
accessories such as a blade which can be grasped and manipulated by a
grasping tool for cutting, sheath accessories that fit over working
members of a tool, flow tubes for providing suction or introducing a
fluid into the surgical site, and a retraction member resiliently biased
to retract a tissue to expose an area in the surgical site for treatment.
The accessories can be introduced into the surgical site by a dedicated
accessory introducer, or can be supported on the body of a surgical tool
inserted into the surgical site and be manipulated using another surgical
tool in the surgical site. The accessory introducer can be resiliently
biased to bias the accessories toward a predetermined position in the
surgical site.