Patent ID: 7975895

Claim:
A surgical stapling device comprising: an elongated body portion; a distal head portion including an anvil assembly and a shell assembly, the anvil assembly including an anvil head assembly and an anvil shaft, the shell assembly supporting a plurality of staples, the anvil assembly being movable in relation to the shell assembly between spaced and approximated positions; a tissue tensioner assembly including a tissue engaging member slidably positioned along the anvil shaft, an elongated link, and an actuator member, the tissue engaging member being positioned at a distal end of the elongated link and the actuator member being positioned at a proximal end of the elongated link, wherein the tissue engaging member includes a locking member positioned for releasably engaging a portion of the anvil shaft to selectively and releasably secure the tissue engaging member at a plurality of fixed axial locations along the anvil shaft.