Patent ID: 8430291

Claim:
A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising: a staple pusher assembly being operative to expel an array of staples therefrom upon actuation of the surgical apparatus; an anvil assembly having an anvil disposed in juxtaposed relation to the staple pusher assembly and being configured to form the array of staples expelled from the staple pusher assembly upon actuation of the surgical stapling apparatus, the anvil assembly having a stem positioning the anvil relative to the staple pusher assembly, the stem defining a longitudinal axis; an approximation assembly extending between the staple pusher assembly and the anvil assembly for moving the anvil assembly toward and away from the staple pusher assembly toward the staple pusher assembly; and a wound treatment material dispersion system for delivering a wound treatment material to a target surgical site, the wound treatment material dispersion system being disposed at least one of: about the stem of the anvil assembly; and about the anvil assembly and the staple pusher assembly; the wound treatment material dispersion system including: at least one aperture formed in the anvil assembly and being oriented to dispense wound treatment material in a radially outward direction relative to the longitudinal axis; and a source of wound treatment material in fluid communication with the at least one aperture formed in the anvil assembly, wherein the wound treatment material is at least one of an adhesive, a sealant, a hemostat, and a medicament.