Patent ID: 8413870

Claim:
A surgical stapling instrument ( 1 ) comprising: a frame having a body portion ( 2 ) and a handle ( 3 ), a staple fastening assembly ( 4 ) in the distal region of said instrument, the staple fastening assembly ( 4 ) including a cartridge device ( 8 ) which comprises two closed rows ( 17 , 18 ) of staples and defines a distal end surface ( 14 ), and an anvil ( 9 ) which defines a proximal staple forming surface ( 20 ) substantially matching the distal end surface ( 14 ) and which is movable relative to the cartridge device ( 8 ) and adapted to cooperate with the cartridge device ( 8 ) for forming the ends of the staples exiting from the cartridge device ( 8 ), a moving device adapted to move the anvil ( 9 ) relative to the cartridge device ( 8 ) along a longitudinal axis (X) of the staple fastening assembly ( 4 ), a staple driving device ( 27 ) adapted to drive the staples out of the cartridge device ( 8 ) towards the anvil ( 9 ), wherein said distal end surface ( 14 ) and said staple forming surface ( 20 ) have a wavy shape including two opposite peaks ( 21 ) and two opposite valleys ( 22 ), each of said two opposite valleys ( 22 ) being angularly spaced at about 90° from the directly bordering peaks ( 21 ), and wherein said two-peaks-two-valleys wavy shape is formed by a stepped configuration of said surfaces ( 14 , 20 ), wherein the distal end surface ( 14 ) forms: exit openings of a radially outer closed row of staple guide slots ( 15 ) in a plurality of different planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X), and exit openings of a radially inner closed row of staple guide slots ( 16 ) in a plurality of different planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X).