Patent ID: 8167905

Claim:
A method for closing a defect in a patient's cardiovascular system, comprising the steps of: introducing a guide wire into the patient's femoral artery; advancing the guide wire to the situs of a defect to be repaired; providing a flexible shaft stapling device comprising: a generally elongated flexible shaft having a longitudinal axis and proximal and distal ends; an actuator located at the proximal end of the flexible shaft; a retractable housing having proximal and distal ends and being slidably positioned at and at least partially surrounding the distal end of the flexible shaft; one or more staples releasably positioned within the retractable housing; and a stapler closer within the retractable housing and operatively connected to the actuator, wherein activation of the actuator causes one or more staples to close and release from the flexible shaft stapling device; mounting the flexible shaft stapling device onto the guide wire and moving the device along the guide wire into a position proximate to the defect to be closed; and actuating the actuator such that the one or more staples close at least a portion of the defect.