Importance

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Abstract

A surgical staple for use in suturing the skin or fascia of a patient. The surgical staple has an elongated, substantially horizontal crown portion terminating in downwardly depending leg portions having points formed at their free ends. The staple, together with a plurality of identical surgical staples, is adapted to straddle and to be fed along a guide means of a surgical stapling instrument to the anvil thereof. The crown of the surgical staple is formed about the anvil by the surgical stapling instrument former which bends end portions of the surgical staple crown downwardly so that the staple leg portions are substantially coaxial with their points approaching each other. The surgical staple has a first pair of diametrically opposed flats extending respectively along the front and rear of the crown and leg portions. The surgical staple has a second pair of diametrically opposed flats, disposed at 90.degree. to the first pair of flats. One flat of the second pair extends along the upper surface of the staple crown portion and the outsides of the staple leg portions and the other flat of the second pair extends along the underside of the crown portion and along the insides of the leg portions. The flats of the first pair, cooperating with similar flats on adjacent surgical staples, assure proper feeding of the surgical staple along the surgical instrument guide means. The flats of the second pair, cooperating with the surgical stapling instrument former and anvil, prevent undesirable rotation of the staple crown portion during forming and implanting of the surgical staple.

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First Claim