Suture retainer with suture guide and method of using a suture retainer with a suture guide

• US 20060184201A1
• Filed: 02/17/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ANPA Medical, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ANPA Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: James, Jervis E.
• Application Number:
  US11/061,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20060184201A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/232
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0487 Suture clamps, clips or locks, e.g. for replacing suture knots; Instruments for applying or removing suture clamps, clips or locks suture anchors A61B17/0401; wound clamps or clips A61B17/08; ligaturing clamps or clips A61B17/122
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/06061 Holders for needles or sutures, e.g. racks, stands hand-held holding instruments A61B17/0483; holders for articles A61B50/20; racks for syringes or for hypodermic or infusion needles A61M5/008

Abstract

The suture retainer according to one aspect of the invention has a retainer body, a suture attachment mechanism (such as a pair of teeth) adapted to hold a suture strand at an attachment point and a suture guide mechanism adapted to maintain an angle between the suture strand and the suture attachment mechanism. Another aspect of the invention provides a method of securing a suture in a suture retainer, including the following steps: providing a suture retainer comprising a retainer body and a suture attachment mechanism; contacting a suture strand with a suture guide to maintain an angle between the suture strand and the suture attachment mechanism; and attaching the suture strand to the retainer body at the suture attachment mechanism. Yet another aspect of the invention provides a suturing method including the steps of: attaching a first end of a suture strand to a suture retainer; contacting a tissue contact portion of the suture strand with tissue to be sutured, the tissue contact portion being disposed between the first end of the suture strand and a second end of the suture strand; contacting the second end of the suture strand with a suture guide to maintain an angle between the suture strand and one of suture attachment mechanisms; and attaching the second end of the suture strand to the suture retainer at a suture attachment point.

Claims

1. A suture retainer comprising a retainer body, a suture attachment mechanism adapted to hold a suture strand at an attachment point and a suture guide mechanism adapted to maintain an angle between the suture strand and the suture attachment mechanism.

2. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the suture attachment mechanism comprises at least a pair of teeth.

3. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the suture attachment mechanism is adapted to releasably hold the suture strand.

4. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the suture guide mechanism comprises a projection from the retainer body.

5. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the suture guide mechanism is adapted to be a first contact point of the suture strand with the suture retainer.

6. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the suture attachment mechanism comprises a needle-end suture attachment mechanism, the suture retainer further comprising a non-needle-end suture attachment mechanism adapted to hold a non-needle-end of the suture strand.

7. The suture retainer of claim 6 wherein the non-needle-end suture attachment mechanism is disposed radially inward from each of the needle-end suture attachment mechanisms.

8. The suture retainer of claim 6 wherein the retainer body comprises a first member and a second member, at least a portion of the second member being adapted to be inserted into the first member to comprise the non-needle-end suture attachment mechanism.

9. The suture retainer of claim 8 wherein the second member comprises a slot which interacts with the first member to hold the non-needle-end of the suture strand.

10. The suture retainer of claim 1 wherein the retainer body comprises a first member and a second member, at least a portion of the second member being adapted to be inserted into the first member to hold a non-needle-end of the suture strand.

11. The suture retainer of claim 10 further comprising an alignment mechanism adapted to orient the second member with respect to the first member.

12. The suture retainer of claim 10 further comprising a movable connection between the first member and the second member.

13. The suture retainer of claim 10 further comprising a snap connection between the first member and the second member.

14. The suture retainer of claim 10 wherein the suture guide mechanism comprises a projection from the first member.

15. The suture retainer of claim 10 wherein the suture guide mechanism comprises a projection from the second member.

16. A method of securing a suture in a suture retainer comprising:

providing a suture retainer comprising a retainer body and a suture attachment mechanism;

contacting a suture strand with a suture guide to maintain an angle between the suture strand and the suture attachment mechanism; and

attaching the suture strand to the retainer body at the suture attachment mechanism.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the suture attachment mechanism comprises at least a pair of teeth, the method further comprising inserting the suture strand between the pair of teeth.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising releasing the suture strand from the suture attachment mechanism after the attaching step.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising reattaching the suture strand to the suture attachment mechanism after the releasing step.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the contacting step comprises contacting with the suture guide a portion of the suture strand between a point where the suture strand leaves a tissue surface and a point where the suture strand contacts a suture attachment mechanism.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the attaching step comprises attaching a needle-end of the suture strand to needle-end suture attachment mechanisms, the method further comprising attaching a non-needle-end of the suture strand to the suture retainer.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the retainer body comprises a first member and a second member, the step of attaching the non-needle-end of the suture strand comprising inserting at least a portion of the second member into the first member to hold the non-needle-end of the suture strand.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the retainer body comprises a movable connection between the first member and the second member, the inserting step comprising moving the second member about the movable connection with respect to the first member.

24. The method of claim 22 further comprising snapping the first and second members together.

25. A suturing method comprising:

attaching a first end of a suture strand to a suture retainer;

contacting a tissue contact portion of the suture strand with tissue to be sutured, the tissue contact portion being disposed between the first end of the suture strand and a second end of the suture strand;

contacting the second end of the suture strand with a suture guide to maintain an angle between the suture strand and a suture attachment point; and

attaching the second end of the suture strand to the suture retainer at the suture attachment point.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of attaching the second end of the suture strand comprises placing the second end of the suture strand between a pair of teeth disposed at the suture attachment point.

27. The method of claim 25 further comprising detaching the second end of the suture strand from the suture attachment point.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising reattaching the second end of the suture strand to the suture retainer at the suture attachment point after the detaching step.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of attaching the first end of the suture strand comprises inserting at least a portion of a first suture retainer body member into a second suture retainer body member.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of attaching the first end of the suture strand comprises placing the first end of the suture strand into a slot formed in the first suture retainer body member.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the inserting step comprises aligning the first suture retainer body member with the second suture retainer body member.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the aligning step comprises rotating the second body member to align a second suture retainer body member alignment element with a first suture retainer body member alignment element.

33. The method of claim 25 wherein the step of contacting the second end of the suture strand with the suture guide comprises making a first contact of the second end of the suture strand with the suture retainer.