Patent ID: 7891533

Claim:
A surgical apparatus for driving surgical fasteners, comprising: a) a frame portion; b) a body portion extending from said frame portion and defining a longitudinal axis; c) a fastener applying assembly defining a second longitudinal axis and being rotatably and pivotably mounted adjacent a distal end portion of the body portion such that the fastener applying assembly rotates about the second longitudinal axis independent of the body portion; d) the fastener applying assembly having an anvil, at least one cam member, and a cartridge assembly, the cartridge assembly including a plurality of surgical fasteners therein, the at least one cam member being operable to sequentially place the plurality of surgical fasteners in tissue; e) a pivot member connected to the fastener applying assembly; a cable connected to the pivot member, wherein axial movement of the cable pivots the fastener applying assembly from a first position having a longitudinal axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of the body portion to a second articulated position wherein the longitudinal axis of the fastener applying assembly is positioned at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the body portion.