Patent ID: 8038045

Claim:
A surgical instrument having a system of retaining buttress material comprising: a handle; an elongate member extending distally from the handle; a jaw assembly mounted adjacent a distal end of the elongate member and including a first jaw and a second jaw, at least one of the first jaw and second jaw defining staple pockets for retaining staples; a buttress material having a central portion and a peripheral portion separated by a perforation line wherein the peripheral portion surrounds the entire central portion of the buttress material; and a buttress retainer having edges and ends defining an open center portion and being removably attached to at least one of the first jaw and the second jaw, the buttress retainer edges and ends lying outwardly of the staple pockets for selectively retaining the peripheral portion of the buttress material between the edges and ends of the buttress retainer and a corresponding tissue contacting surface of one of the first and second jaws of the jaw assembly to which the buttress retainer is attached, the peripheral portion being retained after the buttress material has separated at the perforation line, and the open center portion being sized to releasably retain the central portion of the buttress material.