Surgical clip and applier

Claim 1

A surgical clip for permanently joining apposed tissues, comprising a bridge portion made of a plastically deformable material, a pair of spaced arcuate arms extending generally parallel in one direction from opposite ends of said bridge, each of said arms having a concave surface facing the other arm, and said arms terminating at distal tips which are sufficiently rounded to avoid puncturing tissue captured therebetween, a tang extending from said bridge in a direction opposite that of said arms, a neck connecting said tang to said bridge, said neck being breakable upon application of a predetermined tensile force to said tang, a pair of spaced shoulders on said bridge portion, one on either side of said neck, for supporting said clip as tension is applied to said tang, to create a bending moment in said bridge for deforming the same, said bridge being of such dimensions as to be plastically and permanently deformed by bending upon application to the tang of a force less than said predetermined tensile force while the clip is supported by a tool engaging its shoulders, said bending closing said arms around said apposed tissues, said plastically and permanently deformed bridge retaining said arms in their closed positions after said tang is broken away.