Applying stapler during bowel transection

When performing bowel transection using a stapler, pinch the mesentery under the proposed line of transection to thin it. While protecting the bowel with the thumb, the surgeon tents out the thinned mesentery with the tip of the index finger. Make a small mesenteric defect using electrocautery in the direction parallel to the mesentery. Insert one jaw of the stapler through this defect, or guide it through with a hemostat. Assemble and fire the stapler.