A surgical suturing apparatus includes a suture housing, a needle mounted within the suture housing for movement about an arcuate path, a drive assembly operably associated with the needle for controlling movement of the needle with a suture secured thereto about the arcuate path in a manner facilitating application of the suture to tissue, and a vacuum chamber surrounding the suture housing. The vacuum chamber is coupled to a vacuum line of the endoscope and includes a mechanism for adjusting the maximum amount of tissue that can be drawn into the vacuum chamber.