The surgical instrument (10) has an end effector (12) and a trigger (18,20) in communication with the end effector. The surgical instrument also has a first sensor (110,130,142,2002,2004,2006,2008,2010) and an externally accessible memory device (2001) in communication with the first sensor. The first sensor has an output that represents a first condition of either the trigger or the end effector. The memory device is configured to record the output of the first sensor. In various embodiments, memory device may include an output port (2020) and/or a removable storage medium (2021).
