US Patent 7905902 Surgical implant with preferential corrosion zone

The present invention provides a surgical implant which can be made of a metal that corrodes while implanted in tissue of a patient. The surgical implant has a preferential corrosion zone adapted to corrode at a different rate than the rest of the surgical implant. In one embodiment, the surgical implant is surgical staple that may be formed into a “B-shape” when deployed into tissue, although the invention also is applicable to many other kinds of staples, clips, and other metallic surgical implants. In one embodiment, the preferential corrosion zone comprises an indentation that provides a site for crevice corrosion.