Patent ID: 7905902

Claim:
A surgical staple having a solid crown, a first solid leg, and a second solid leg, the surgical staple formed of a single metallic composition that corrodes in tissue of a patient, said surgical staple having at least one metallic preferential corrosion zone associated with the crown and the crown adapted to corrode within the patient more quickly than a different portion of the surgical staple corrodes within the patient, said surgical staple further comprising a non-metallic buttress that is deployable together and in physical contact with said surgical staple into tissue, said preferential corrosion zone comprising an interface between said surgical staple and said buttress; and wherein said buttress contains a corrosion promoting material that increases the electrochemical corrosion rate in the preferential corrosion zone of the surgical staple, wherein when the surgical staple is deployed into tissue the staple is formed into generally B-shaped configuration such that the first and second legs each curl inward, and wherein the preferential corrosion zone is in the crown, and wherein once the preferential corrosion zone is corroded the surgical staple is fragmented into first and second half-B-shape fragments.