Patent ID: 7726539

Claim:
A surgical stapling instrument comprising: an anvil having a first annular array of staple forming depressions and a second annular array of staple forming depressions; a staple retaining portion having a first tissue contacting surface with a first height and a second tissue contacting surface with a second height, the second height being different from the first height, the first tissue contacting surface defining a first plane and the second tissue contacting surface defining a second plane that is parallel to the first plane; a first annular array of staple retaining slots disposed in the first tissue contacting surface of the staple retaining portion and arranged for alignment with the first annular array of staple forming depressions; a second annular array of staple retaining slots disposed in the second tissue contacting surface of the staple retaining portion and arranged for alignment with the second annular array of staple forming depressions; a first plurality of staples disposed in the first annular array of staple retaining slots, each staple in the first plurality of staples having a first leg length, the first plurality of staples movable through the first annular array of staple retaining slots towards the first annular array of staple forming depressions of the anvil; and a second plurality of staples disposed in the second annular array of staple retaining slots, each staple in the second plurality of staples having a second leg length that is different from the first leg length, the second plurality of staples movable through the second annular array of staple retaining slots towards the second annular array of staple forming depressions of the anvil.