Articulatable electrosurgical instrument with a fixable articulation actuator

Embodiments of the present technology provide articulatable electrosurgical instruments and methods for performing articulatable electrosurgical procedures. The electrosurgical instrument includes an elongate shaft having an end effector associated with its distal end and capable of transferring energy to a target tissue site. The joint is disposed between the shaft and the end effector. The articulation of the joint is controlled by a fixable articulation actuator that includes a rotationally fixable disk that resides inside the well. The end effector takes the form of a forceps including an upper jaw and a lower jaw, which jaws grasp the target tissue and transmit energy, eg, high frequency energy. In some electrosurgical instruments, the end effector is configured to seal tissue by applying radio frequency energy and cut the sealed tissue site. [Selection] Figure 17