Patent ID: 8403956

Claim:
A surgical method of treating tissue within the body of a patient, the method comprising: providing an endocutter having an end effector with a first plurality of staples arranged in a firing position and frangibly connected to a feeder belt; engaging a first portion of tissue of the patient with said end effector; deploying said first plurality of staples into said first portion of tissue by a first actuation of the endocutter; disengaging said end effector from said first portion of tissue; after the disengaging step, engaging a second portion of tissue of the patient with said end effector; moving a second plurality of staples into said firing position from another location within said endocutter by advancing at least part of said feeder belt; clamping said feeder belt in place; and deploying said second plurality of staples into said second portion of tissue by a second actuation of the endocutter.