Patent ID: 7296722

Claim:
A surgical fastener applying apparatus, comprising: an anvil half-section including a distal end and a proximal end defining a longitudinal axis, the anvil half-section including a channel member having pair of juxtaposed side walls interconnected by a base wall, each side wall defining a through hole having a diameter; a cartridge receiving half-section including a distal end, wherein the cartridge receiving half-section is pivotably couplable with the anvil half-section such that the distal end of the anvil half-section is in juxtaposed relation to the distal end of the cartridge receiving half-section, wherein the distal end of the anvil half-section is pivotable relative to the distal end of the cartridge receiving half-section about a pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis; and a deflection control system operatively associated with the anvil half-section for reinforcing the distal end of the anvil half-section when a force is applied to the distal end of the anvil half-section in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, the deflection control system including: a pair of reinforcing ribs including a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the distal end of each reinforcing rib is fixedly secured to an inner surface of a respective side wall of the pair of side walls of the channel member and the proximal end of each reinforcing rib extends beyond the pivot axis, the proximal end of each reinforcing rib defining a hole in registration with the through hole defined in the side walls of the channel member, the holes being positioned proximal of the pivot axis; and a cam extending through the holes formed in each side wall of the channel member and each reinforcing rib, the cam having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the through hole formed in each reinforcing rib to thereby define a reveal between each reinforcing rib and the cam.