Patent ID: 7896214

Claim:
A surgical instrument for surgically joining tissue, the surgical instrument comprising: a handle assembly; an elongated portion extending distally from the handle assembly and defining a longitudinal axis; an end effector disposed adjacent a distal portion of the elongated portion, the end effector including a first jaw member and a second jaw member, the first jaw member including a knife channel, at least one jaw member being movable with respect to the other jaw member between spaced and approximated positions; and a stop member disposed adjacent a distal portion of the first jaw member, the stop member being pivotable with respect to the first jaw member between a first position, a significant portion of the stop member being positioned external to the first jaw member, and a second position capturing the tissue between the first jaw member and second jaw member, wherein the stop member includes a first leg and a second leg, the first leg and the second leg being positioned on opposite sides of the knife channel.