Patent ID: 7988702

Claim:
A surgical fastener for fastening tissue segments having tissue surfaces, the fastener comprising: a first fastener member; and a second fastener member configured to receive and retain the first fastener member and implantable within the body such that the tissue segments to be fastened are retained between the first and second fastener members and bodily fluid flow through the fastener members is substantially prevented, wherein the second fastener member includes a projection that extends from a base of the second fastener member towards the first fastener member when the second fastener member retains the first fastener member, the projection including a substantially cylindrical side wall that extends from the base towards the first fastener member when the second fastener member retains the first fastener member and an end face opposite the base, wherein the base, the side wall, and the end face of the projection define a reservoir containing a therapeutic agent therein, and wherein the side wall includes a plurality of apertures that extend transversely through the side wall and are positioned closer to the end face of the projection than to the base, at least one of the plurality of apertures having a perimeter that is completely circumscribed by the side wall, wherein at least two of the plurality of apertures are positioned opposite each other within the side wall with the reservoir therebetween, wherein the base of the second fastener member is substantially circular and the projection is substantially centrally positioned thereon.