Method and apparatus for treating a hip joint, including the provision and use of a novel suture passer

• US 10,357,243 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2015
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pivot Medical, Inc. (Stryker Corporation)
• Inventors: Skinlo, David, Heneveld, Scott, Weisel, Thomas, Stewart, Daren, Lantz, Andrew, Pisarnwongs, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Scherbel, Todd J
• Application Number:
  US14/955,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20160249906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/04 for suturing wounds; Holders or packages for needles or suture materials suture materials A61L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0469 Suturing instruments for use in minimally invasive surgery, e.g. endoscopic surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0482 Needle or suture guides guides for drills, pins or wire A61B17/17; for puncturing needles A61B17/3403
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0483 Hand-held instruments for holding sutures A61B17/0469 takes precedence; other holders for needles or sutures A61B17/06061; surgical forceps A61B17/28; surgical pincettes A61B17/30
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0485 Devices or means, e.g. loops, for capturing the suture thread and threading it through an opening of a suturing instrument or needle eyelet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0491 Sewing machines for surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/06004 Means for attaching suture to needle tipping A61B17/06195; connecting wire to other metallic objects B21F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/06066 Needles, e.g. needle tip configurations making needles B21G1/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06009 having additional means for releasably clamping the suture to the needle, e.g. actuating rod slideable within the needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06014 spring-loaded
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06042 located close to needle tip
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06052 Needle-suture combinations in which a suture is extending inside a hollow tubular needle, e.g. over the entire length of the needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/061 hollow or tubular
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2926 Details of heads or jaws

Abstract

A suture passer comprising:

• • a shaft having an axis;
  • a first jaw mounted to the shaft in alignment with the axis, the first jaw being configured to releasably support a length of suture thereon;
  • a second jaw movably mounted to the shaft; and
  • a needle movably mounted to the shaft, the needle having a hook and being configured to reciprocate in alignment with the axis so that the hook can selectively pass by the second jaw and engage suture releasably supported on the first jaw;
  • wherein the first jaw comprises a spring for selectively binding the suture to the first jaw, and further wherein the spring comprises a recess for receiving the suture therein.

Claims

1. A suture passer for passing suture through tissue, the suture passer comprising:

a shaft having a distal end, a proximal end, and an axis extending therebetween;

a handle disposed at the proximal end of the shaft, the handle comprising a trigger;

a first jaw mounted to the distal end of the shaft in alignment with the axis;

a second jaw movably mounted to the shaft; and

a needle movably mounted to the shaft;

wherein the suture passer is configured so that when the trigger of the handle is moved in a first direction, the suture passer (i) moves the second jaw to releasably clamp tissue between the first jaw and the second jaw, (ii) advances the needle so as to pass the needle through the tissue clamped by the second jaw, and (iii) further advances the needle so as to engage suture, and further wherein when the trigger of the handle is moved in a second, opposite direction, the suture passer (i) retracts the needle through the tissue clamped by the second jaw while carrying the suture therewith, and (ii) moves the second jaw to release the tissue clamped by the second jaw.

2. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the needle comprises a hook.

3. A suture passer according to claim 2 wherein the hook comprises a proximally-facing hooking surface.

4. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the first jaw is configured to releasably support the suture.

5. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the first jaw comprises a movable element for selectively binding the suture to the first jaw.

6. A suture passer according to claim 5 wherein the movable element comprises a spring.

7. A suture passer according to claim 5 wherein the movable element comprises a pathway for receiving the needle.

8. A suture passer according to claim 5 wherein the movable element comprises a recess for receiving the suture therein.

9. A suture passer according to claim 5 wherein the movable element pushes the suture in a direction transverse to the direction of the axis of the shaft.

10. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the first jaw comprises a slot sized to receive the suture therein.

11. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the first jaw comprises a passage for the needle.

12. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the second jaw is configured to reciprocate in alignment with the axis so as to advance toward, and retract from, the first jaw.

13. A suture passer according to claim 1 further comprising a second needle movably mounted to the shaft in coaxial disposition with the needle.

14. A suture passer according to claim 13 wherein the second needle is configured so as to selectively capture suture to the needle.

15. A suture passer according to claim 14 wherein the needle comprises a hook, wherein the hook comprises a distally-extending portion, a base connected to the distally-extending portion and extending transverse to the distally-extending portion, and a proximally-extending portion connected to the base and spaced from the distally-extending portion, and further wherein the second needle is configured to advance relative to the needle so as to capture the suture against the base of the hook.

16. A suture passer according to claim 1 wherein the suture passer comprises a first spring for biasing the needle in a proximal direction and a second spring for biasing the second jaw in a proximal direction.

17. A suture passer according to claim 16 wherein when the trigger is moved in the first direction, the second jaw and the needle move together distally until the second jaw clamps the tissue between the first jaw and the second jaw, after which the needle advances distally to pass through the tissue clamped between the first jaw and the second jaw and engage the suture.

18. A suture passer according to claim 17 wherein the second jaw moves distally until force applied to the tissue by the second jaw equals the maximum force that the second spring can apply to the second jaw.

19. A suture passer according to claim 18 wherein after the second jaw stops moving distally, the needle continues to move distally to penetrate the tissue, and then to engage suture.

20. A suture passer according to claim 19 wherein when the trigger is moved in the second, opposite direction, the needle moves proximally to capture the suture and carry the suture through the tissue, and then the needle and the second jaw move proximally together to release the tissue clamped by the second jaw while carrying the suture.