Patent ID: 8052698

Claim:
A surgical instrument for applying a fastener to tissue of a patient, the fastener comprising a male component including a base and a protrusion, and a female component including a base and a recess for receiving the protrusion of the male component, the instrument comprising: an elongate shaft having a working end with an end effector secured thereto and a grip end opposite the working end; the end effector including a housing and a first jaw pivotally mounted on the housing, the first jaw including a releasable catch for releasably holding the base of the male component, the end effector also including a second jaw statically mounted to the housing, the second jaw including a releasable catch for releasably holding the base of the female component; the first and second jaws extend from the working end of the shaft toward the grip end and the first jaw being pivotally moveable between an open position in which the first jaw is sufficiently spaced from the second jaw so that tissue can be received between a female component held in the second jaw and a male component held in the first jaw of the instrument, and a closed position in which the protrusion of the male component is aligned with and received in the recess of the female component; and a mechanism operatively connected to the first jaw for moving the first jaw between the open position and the closed position to join the male component of the fastener with the female component of the fastener thereby applying the fastener to the tissue of the patient, the mechanism including a first crank rotatably mounted in the housing coupled to a control cable extending from the first crank to the grip end and a linkage extending from the first crank to the pivotally mounted first jaw.