A surgical staple including a crown comprised of a dissolvable, bioabsorbable, or biofragmentable material, a first deformable member, and a second member. In at least one embodiment, the crown connects the first member and the second member, however, after the crown has been dissolved, the first member is unconnected to the second member and, as a result, the first and second members can move relative to each other. Accordingly, the staple can be rigid during the early stages of healing and can be flexible during the latter stages of healing, for example. In various embodiments, the first and second members of the staple are also comprised of a dissolvable, bioabsorbable, or biofragmentable material. In these embodiments, the first and second members can be constructed so that the crown and first and second members dissolve at different rates and/or dissolve away at different times.