Patent ID: 8225980

Claim:
A surgical method for treating tissue within a patient; comprising: possessing a staple holder, an anvil movable relative to said staple holder, a feeder belt extending into said staple holder, a plurality of staples frangibly affixed to said feeder belt, and a buttress belt extending onto a surface of said anvil that is oriented toward said staple holder, wherein said buttress belt includes a plurality of apertures defined therein; clamping tissue between said anvil and said staple holder; deploying a plurality of said staples through the tissue clamped between said anvil and said staple holder by urging an end of at least one said staple through a first said aperture defined in said buttress belt, wherein said staples are connected to said buttress belt; breaking said deployed plurality of said staples from said feeder belt; and leaving at least a portion of said buttress belt in position against tissue within the patient.