Patent ID: 8361112

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a shaft having proximal and distal ends defining an axis therebetween, wherein the shaft is flexible and sized for insertion into a working channel of a flexible endoscope, and wherein the shaft comprises: a first tube having a first channel extending from a proximal end of the first tube to a distal end of the first tube, wherein at least a portion of the first tube is adapted to retain a second tube; the second tube having a second channel extending from a proximal end of the second tube to a distal end of the second tube, wherein the distal end of the second tube is integrally formed into a tissue penetrating tip structured to puncture a tissue wall, and wherein the second channel is adapted to retain at least one suture anchor; the suture anchor having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the suture anchor is movable from a shielding position to a retracted position, wherein the distal end of the suture anchor is proximal to the tissue penetrating tip when the suture anchor is in the retracted position and extends distally past the tissue penetrating tip when the suture anchor is in the shielding position, and wherein the suture anchor is removably deployable from the tissue penetrating tip such that the suture anchor can be pulled against a distal side of the tissue wall as the tissue penetrating tip is removed from the tissue wall; and a tag pusher, wherein the tag pusher comprises a first member and a second member connected with a compression member, and wherein the compression member is structured to decompress to allow the suture anchor to move from the retracted position to a position beyond the shielding position to removably deploy the suture anchor from the tissue penetrating tip when the tissue penetrating tip punctures through a tissue wall.