Patent ID: 8545525

Claim:
An apparatus for facilitating the creation of an anastomosis in bodily tissue, the apparatus comprising: a first clamp comprising a first exterior clamp member and a first interior clamp member, the first clamp operable between a deployed configuration and a delivery configuration, the first clamp being biased towards the deployed configuration; a second clamp comprising a second exterior clamp member and a second interior clamp member, the second clamp operable between a deployed configuration and a delivery configuration, the second clamp being biased towards the deployed configuration; the interior and exterior clamp members of the first clamp connected together at their ends by hinged regions, and the interior and exterior clamp members of the second clamp connected together at their ends by the hinged regions; the exterior and interior clamp members of the first clamp being coplanar in the deployed configuration, and the exterior and interior clamp members of the second clamp being coplanar in the deployed configuration; and the exterior and interior clamp members of the first clamp being moved away from each other, out of plane, in the delivery configuration, and the exterior and interior clamp members of the second clamp being moved away from each other, out of plane, in the delivery configuration.