Anvil buttress loading for a surgical stapling apparatus

A surgical stapling system, comprising:

• an end effector including an anvil assembly;
• and
• a buttress loading assembly comprising:
• an anvil buttress;
• and
• an anvil buttress loader that supports the anvil buttress, the anvil buttress loader including:
• a support plate including a flexible locking arm;
• and
• a sled coupled to the support plate by the flexible locking arm, the sled supporting the anvil buttress and configured to slide the anvil buttress onto the anvil assembly, the sled configured to move relative to the support plate when the flexible locking arm is uncoupled from the sled.

An anvil buttress loader, comprising:

• a support plate;
• a shield secured to the support plate and including first and second indicator nubs;
• and
• a sled mounted to the support plate, the sled selectively movable relative to the support plate and the shield to load a buttress onto an anvil, the sled including a pivotable arm member that selectively attaches to the anvil by a tooth supported on an end of the pivotable arm member, the sled including a visual indicator protuberance that moves from the first indicator nub to the second indicator nub when the sled moves relative to the support plate, the sled including a cam boss that pivots the tooth away from the anvil when the visual indictor protuberance is slid from the first indicator nub to the second indictor nub.