US Patent 9597075 Tissue acquisition arrangements and methods for surgical stapling devices

In various embodiments, a surgical instrument is disclosed comprising a firing member, an anvil shaft assembly operably supported within an elongated shaft, and an anvil removably attachable to a distal connection portion of an anvil shaft assembly. The instrument further comprises a tissue acquisition shaft rotatably supported within the elongated shaft, tissue acquisition members pivotally attached to a distal end portion of the tissue acquisition shaft and being selectively pivotable between a retracted position to deployed positions, and at least one tissue acquisition pin corresponding to each one of the tissue acquisition members, each tissue acquisition pin radially protruding outward from the distal end portion of the tissue acquisition shaft to impale tissue drawn in towards the tissue acquisition shaft by the tissue acquisition members when the tissue acquisition members are moved from the deployed positions to the retracted position.