a soft tissue anchor delivery apparatus includes a gripping device having fingers at the distal end and configured such that they can hold a soft tissue anchor about the head portion of the anchor . an actuating tube slides over the gripper and the fingers , thus holding the fingers and the contained soft tissue anchor within the bore of the actuating tube . a pushrod is placed within the bore of the gripper . the pushrod has a countersunk head that is shaped such that it is a close fit for the head of the soft tissue anchor . the pushrod is connected to a tube having a bore so that the actuating pin of the soft tissue anchor can be pushed down into the head of the anchor . the pushrod is spring loaded so as to allow the pushrod to be driven distally upon retraction of the actuating tube , thus driving the anchor free of the deployed fingers and hence of the entire delivery system .