Patent ID: 7951147

Claim:
A method for clamping tissue, the method comprising: positioning a surgical clamp near a target tissue, the surgical clamp including a pair of jaws extending from a shaft, the jaws being in an articulated position wherein the jaws are spaced apart with respect to each other at the shaft and are angled outwardly relative to the shaft; articulating at least one of the jaws from the articulated position to place the jaws in an opened position wherein the jaws are spaced apart with respect to each other at the shaft and substantially parallel by the application of forces that are, at least in part, external to the surgical clamp, such that the target tissue interposes the substantially parallel jaws; and clamping the target tissue between the jaws by moving at least one of the jaws relative to the shaft from the opened position such that the jaws close on the target tissue while remaining substantially parallel.