Handling of fasteners within a surgical instrument

Surgical instruments and their methods of use are disclosed. In some embodiments, the surgical instrument may include a handle and an elongate shaft assembly extending distally from the handle. The surgical instrument may also include a fastener deployment system for deploying fasteners from the elongated shaft assembly that includes an reciprocating drive shaft disposed within the elongated shaft assembly. The drive shaft may include an internal channel and at least one guide surface shaped and arranged to maintain an orientation of at least one fastener in the channel of the drive shaft. In other embodiments, the fastener deployment system may include a follower disposed within the elongated shaft assembly to displace one or more fasteners within the elongated shaft assembly toward a distal fastener deployment position.</p> <p>( Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)