Patent ID: 8361090

Claim:
A method of endoscopically approximating tissue within a hollow body organ, the method comprising: positioning an elongated body adjacent to a portion of tissue to be excised from the hollow body organ; radially expanding a first tissue approximation component into contact with a first region of tissue and a second tissue approximation component into contact with a second region of tissue; releasably gripping the first region of tissue circumferentially about the first tissue approximation component via a gripping force exerted by the first tissue approximation component and the second region of tissue circumferentially about the second tissue approximation component via a gripping force exerted by the second tissue approximation component, such that the tissue to be excised is positioned between the first and the second tissue approximation components; removing the tissue to be excised from between the first and the second tissue approximation components; approximating the first and the second tissue approximation components such that the first and the second regions of tissue are adjacent to one another; and fastening the first region of tissue to the second region of tissue.