Patent ID: 8021378

Claim:
A surgical clip for use on a patient, comprising: a) a first arm portion having a tip, a first opposite end, a first inwardly facing surface, and a first outwardly facing surface, said first arm portion defining a thickness between said first inwardly facing surface and said first outwardly facing surface, a first length between said tip and said first opposite end, and a first width which is transverse to said first length and said thickness of said first arm portion; b) a second arm portion having a first end, a second opposite end, a second inwardly facing surface, and a second outwardly facing surface, said second arm portion defining a thickness between said second inwardly facing surface and said second outwardly facing surface, a second length between said first and second ends of said second arm portion, and a second width which is transverse to said second length and said thickness of said second arm portion; c) a retainer extending from said first end of said second arm portion, said retainer having a width which is identical to and parallel with said second width of said second arm portion, and a tissue piercing tip; and d) a bridge portion connecting said opposite ends of said first and second arm portions, wherein said first and second arm portions and said bridge portion comprise a single continuous piece of material, and wherein i) said clip is configurable to an original first configuration in which said retainer extends beyond said tip of said first arm portion substantially parallel to said first and second arm portions, ii) said clip is configurable to an applied second configuration in which said tissue piercing tip of said retainer is disposed about or adjacent said tip of said first arm portion, iii) said retainer is adapted to plastically deform from its orientation in said original first configuration to its orientation in said applied second configuration, and iv) said first and second arm portions and said bridge portion are substantially stiff to maintain a generally U-shaped configuration in which said bridge portion extends through at least 90 degrees and said first and second arm portions are substantially parallel to each other in said original first and applied second configurations, and while said retainer is plastically deformed between said original first and applied second configurations.