Patent ID: 8123795

Claim:
A method for attaching a structure to a body lumen, comprising: providing a surgical tool comprising a plurality of substantially flat staples, a head holding said staples, said staples arranged in a stack therein, wherein said stack is biased distally, a shaft, a joint connecting said head to said shaft, wherein said joint allows said head to pivot to a position in which the longitudinal centerline of said head is angled relative to the longitudinal centerline of said shaft, and a driver slidable within said head; providing a graft assembly, said graft assembly including a graft connected to a stent and a nose cone affixed to said stent by a plurality of struts; inserting said graft, stent and surgical tool into the body lumen; pivoting said head relative to said shaft such that the distal end of said head contacts the interior of said stent; splaying at least one said staple within said body lumen, after said inserting; after said splaying, reciprocating said driver to deploy serially the distalmost said staple in said stack through said stent into the body lumen; and after said reciprocating, frangibly separating said nose cone and said stent.