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A flexible-shaft surgical instrument has a compression member that is distally movable to provide a compression force between the compression member and a distal compression bearing to compress a plurality of links and rigidly lock a semi-rigid tube formed by those links at any of a variety of user-

A flexible-shaft surgical instrument has a compression member that is distally movable to provide a compression force between the compression member and a distal compression bearing to compress a plurality of links and rigidly lock a semi-rigid tube formed by those links at any of a variety of user-selectable predetermined positions. The semi-rigid tube is configured to be bent and locked at the user-selectable predetermined position and, upon proximal movement of the compression member, returned to an unlocked state without significant plastic deformation of the semi-rigid tube.

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1. A flexible-shaft surgical instrument comprising: a semi-rigid tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the semi-rigid tube comprising (i) a distal-most link, (ii) a proximal-most link and (iii) a plurality of intermediate links disposed between the distal-most link and the proximal-most link,

1. A flexible-shaft surgical instrument comprising: a semi-rigid tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the semi-rigid tube comprising (i) a distal-most link, (ii) a proximal-most link and (iii) a plurality of intermediate links disposed between the distal-most link and the proximal-most link, each of the plurality of intermediate links including a male portion and a female portion, the male portion being inserted into the female portion of an adjacent link;a surgical device having an elongated portion with a distal end, a proximal end and an intermediate portion between the distal and proximal ends, at least part of the intermediate portion being flexible, at least part of the surgical device being disposed within a hollow portion of the semi-rigid tube such that at least some of the plurality of intermediate links are aligned with at least part of the intermediate portion of the surgical device;a distal compression ring that is provided on the surgical device at a position that is adjacent to the distal end of the surgical device, the distal compression ring radially protruding from an outer surface of the surgical device; anda compression member that is movably attached to the surgical device at a position that is proximal to the proximal end of the semi-rigid tube, the semi-rigid tube being disposed between the compression member and the distal compression ring, the compression member being distally movable relative to the surgical device to apply a compressive force to the semi-rigid tube that causes at least the proximal-most link to move distally and that presses the semi-rigid tube against the distal compression ring to urge the plurality of links together and rigidly lock the semi-rigid tube and the intermediate portion of the surgical device at a user-selectable predetermined bend angle, the compression member being proximally movable to release the compressive force from the semi-rigid tube and thereby return the semi-rigid tube and the intermediate portion of the surgical device to an unlocked state. 2. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjacent links is of a number and configuration large enough such that the semi-rigid tube and the intermediate portion of the surgical device may be bent between an angle of 0° and at least +/−110°. 3. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein at least one portion of the female portion of the plurality of adjacent links overlaps the male portion of the adjacent link that is inserted into the female portion. 4. The surgical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a protective sheath covering at least the semi-rigid tube. 5. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the links are comprised of a material that is biocompatible. 6. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the links are comprised of a material that is not degraded by chemicals employed in a surgical procedure. 7. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the surgical device includes at least one hollow tube. 8. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the surgical device is one of a shaver, an illumination device, a vacuum tube, an endoscope, an observation device, a microdebrider, or an electro-surgical device. 9. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the links are formed from a polymer material. 10. The surgical instrument of claim 9, wherein the polymer material is polyetherimide. 11. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the compression member is a tube having internal threads that engage external threads provided adjacent to an outer surface of the surgical device such that, upon rotating the compression member, the compression member moves distally or proximally to either compress and rigidly lock the plurality of links at the user-selectable predetermined position or return to the unlocked state. 12. The surgical instrument of claim 1, further comprising: an intermediate member disposed between the compression member and the proximal end of the semi-rigid tube. 13. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein, in the unlocked state, the semi-rigid tube is freely bendable. 14. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the surgical device includes, at the distal end of the elongated portion, one of a cutting blade, a light-emitting portion, a suction aperture, an observation unit, and an electro-surgical energy applicator. 15. A surgical cutting instrument comprising: an inner tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the inner tube including a cutting surface at the distal end and a flexible portion located between the distal end and the proximal end;an outer tube having a distal tip and a proximal tip, the outer tube being hollow and including a cutting window at the distal tip and a flexible portion located between the distal tip and the proximal tip, the inner tube being disposed within the outer tube so as to align the cutting surface of the inner tube with the cutting window of the outer tube;a semi-rigid tube disposed around at least the flexible portion of the outer tube and having a distal end and a proximal end, the semi-rigid tube comprising (i) a distal-most link, (ii) a proximal-most link and (iii) a plurality of intermediate links disposed between the distal-most link and the proximal-most link, at least some of the intermediate links being disposed around at least the flexible portion of the outer tube, each of the intermediate links including a male portion and a female portion, the male portion being insertable into the female portion of an adjacent link;a distal compression bearing that is provided on an outer surface of the outer tube at a position that is adjacent to the distal tip of the outer tube, the distal compression bearing radially protruding from the outer surface of the outer tube; anda compression member that is movably attached to the outer surface of the outer tube at a position that is proximal to the proximal end of the semi-rigid tube, the semi-rigid tube being disposed between the compression member and the distal compression bearing, the compression member being distally movable relative to the outer tube to apply a compressive force to the semi-rigid tube that causes at least the proximal-most link to move distally along the outer surface of the outer tube and that presses the semi-rigid tube against the distal compression bearing to urge the plurality of links together and rigidly lock the semi-rigid tube, the outer tube and the inner tube at a user-selectable predetermined bend angle, the compression member being proximally movable to release the compressive force from the semi-rigid tube and thereby return the semi-rigid tube, the outer tube and the inner tube to an unlocked state. 16. The surgical cutting instrument of claim 15, wherein the compression member is a tube having internal threads that engage external threads provided on an outer surface of outer tube such that, upon rotating the compression member, the compression member moves distally or proximally to either compress the plurality of links and rigidly lock the semi-rigid tube and the outer and inner tubes at the user-selectable predetermined position or return to the unlocked state. 17. The surgical cutting instrument of claim 15, further comprising an intermediate member disposed between the compression member and the plurality of links. 18. The surgical cutting instrument of claim 15, wherein the flexible portion of the outer tube comprises intermittent helically-staggered cuts through the wall of the outer tube to enable the outer tube to bend in multiple planes. 19. The surgical cutting instrument of claim 15, further comprising a protective sheath covering at least the plurality of links. 20. The surgical cutting instrument of claim 15, wherein the plurality of adjacent links is of a number and configuration large enough such that the outer tube and the inner tube may be bent between an angle of 0° and at least +/−110°.