Patent ID: 8821517

Claim:
A mechanism for deploying a fastener into skin tissue having an incision or wound, comprising: a first foot including a lower surface that is configured to contact an external surface of the skin tissue on one side of the incision or wound without piercing the external surface; a second foot including a lower surface that is configured to contact the external surface of the skin tissue on the other side of the incision or wound directly opposed from the first foot and without piercing the external surface, the first and second feet being spaced apart by a gap and defining a continuous planar vertical tissue interface within the entire gap, and each of the first and second feet configured to allow the skin tissue from one side of the incision or wound to be retracted thereover at an acute angle relative to the external surface of the skin tissue to expose an inner surface of each of the sides of the incision or wound in the gap; and an insertion device that releasably holds the fastener and is adapted to be moved to deploy the fastener into the exposed inner surfaces of the incision or wound on opposed sides of the continuous planar vertical tissue interface from above and generally perpendicular to the external surface of the skin tissue.