Method and apparatus for serial deployment of multiple tissue fasteners

A system for delivering and deploying a plurality of tissue fasteners to multiple locations of tissue layers to be secured to each other comprising:

• a delivery tube having proximal and distal ends and having a lumen and a distal outlet opening at the distal end;
• a plurality of tissue fasteners disposed in a tandem array in the lumen of the delivery tube, each of the tissue fasteners comprising a tubular body having proximal and distal ends and an inner lumen
• a shuttle mechanism extending through the delivery tube and through bodies of the tandem fasteners, the shuttle mechanism being movable longitudinally within the delivery tube, the shuttle mechanism having at its distal end, a a fastener-engaging mechanism for selectively engaging a fastener body within the lumen of the fastener sufficiently to slide the fastener within the lumen of the delivery tube in a distal or proximal direction;
• whereby the shuttle mechanism may selectively eject the most distal of the fasteners in the array within the delivery tube toward and out of the distal outlet or retract a partially ejected fastener back into the delivery tube.