A surgical tool for deploying an anastomotic ring comprises a handle and a ring deployment mechanism at the distal end of a shaft. The ring deployment mechanism has a distal portion and a proximal portion, and is moveable from an unactuated position to an actuated position to deploy an anastomotic ring. To prevent tissue from becoming trapped in the deployment mechanism during insertion or extraction of the tool, distal and proximal sheaths are configured to cover distal and proximal portions of the ring deployment mechanism, respectively. An actuation mechanism in the handle permits advancement of the distal sheath and actuation of the distal portion of the ring deployment mechanism with a single movement of a first actuator slider. The actuation mechanism also permits retraction of the proximal sheath and actuation of the proximal portion of the ring deployment mechanism with a single movement of a second actuator slider.