Suturing instrument and a method of holding a shuttle

• US 4,440,171 A
• Filed: 02/01/1982
• Issued: 04/03/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Janome Sewing Machine Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Janome Sewing Machine Company Limited
• Inventors: Takahashi, Masayoshi, Ebata, Yoshikazu, Nomoto, Reishi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Lee S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sykes, Angela D.
• Application Number:
  US06/344,781
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 128/334 R, 128/334 C, 128/335, 128/335.5
• US Class Current: 606/145
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0491 Sewing machines for surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0496 for tensioning sutures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06042 located close to needle tip
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 81/00 Sewing machines incorporating devices serving purposes other than sewing, e.g. for blowing air, for grinding

Abstract

A surgical suturing instrument crosses and knots a suturing thread combining a shuttle and the other suturing thread passing through an eye of a curved needle in a lock stitching practice, for accomplishing smooth passage of passing the shuttle through a loop of the needle thread and exact combination of the shuttle thread and the needle thread without getting out the shuttle from a shuttle holder during the suturing operation so as to form sound suturing stitchings every time. The shuttle is accommodated between a shuttle holder and a shuttle claw. The shuttle is formed with a front end portion movable between a guide groove in the shuttle claw and a guide groove in the shuttle holder. The shuttle is further formed with a sharp end for catching a thread loop in the suturing operation.

Claims

1. In a surgical suturing instrument having a curved needle carrying a suturing thread and mounted on a needle supporting means and a reciprocally movable shuttle holding means carrying a shuttle to which the suturing thread is connected to form a shuttle thread, the suturing thread being formed into a thread loop through which said shuttle is passed to form in cooperation with said needle, suturing stitches in two parts being sutured up, a combination comprising a shuttle having a said longitudinal center line and being symmetrical relative to said center line, said shuttle including a main body having an upper face and formed with a front end and a rear end, and a front end portion outwardly extending from said front end of the main body, said front end portion being formed with a thread passing hole and having a sharp end catching the thread loop, said front end portion having an upper sloped surface extending between said sharp end and said front end of the main body, and a lower sloped surface extending between said bottom surface and said front end of said main body;

and said shuttle holding means including a shuttle holder and a shuttle claw secured to the shuttle holder so as to accommodate said shuttle therebetween, said shuttle holder being formed with a first guide groove engaging to engage and guiding said front end portion of said shuttle, said shuttle claw having a front part and a rear part, said front part having a second guide groove engaging guiding and guide said front end portion of the shuttle, said rear part of said shuttle claw being formed with a pair of opposite shuttle guide pieces which define an inner face of the shuttle claw, said guide pieces and said main body of the shuttle being so dimensioned that clearances are made between the upper face of said main body and the inner face of the shuttle claw, and between the rear end of said main body and said inner face to allow the suturing thread to pass through said clearances, said front end portion moving from said first guide groove to said second guide groove and vice versa, whereby the shuttle carrying the thread is prevented from being slipped out from said shuttle holding means during the suturing operation.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said main body has a height continuously decreasing from its front end to its rear end along said center line.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said main body has a width continuously decreasing from its front end to its rear end relative to said center line.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said main body at its front end is formed with two opposite round shoulders extending from said front end portion towards the rear end of the body.

5. A method of suturing parts in a surgical operation utilizing a suturing instrument having a curved needle whose curvature lies in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said instrument, said curved needle having a hole and oblong guiding groove for carrying a thread, a reciprocally movable shuttle holding means having a holder with a guide groove and a claw with a guide groove both being cooperatively mounted to incorporate therebetween a shuttle having a main body with a sloping front end portion containing a thread hole, said shuttle having at least one expanded round shoulder and at least one correcting face, wherein the steps comprise:

(a) threadably moving said thread through said oblong groove and through said needle hole of said curved needle;

(b) fixedly attaching one end of said thread to said thread hole of said sloping front end portion of said shuttle so that a shuttle thread is formed;

(c) inserting said curved threaded needle through said parts to be sutured so that a thread loop is formed;

(d) moving said shuttle towards said thread loop so that said sloping front end portion is rockably movable between said guide groove of said shuttle holder and said guide groove of said shuttle claw so that said thread loop is cooperatively caught by said sloping front end portion of said shuttle, said sloping front end carrying said shuttle thread;

(e) crossing said shuttle thread with said needle thread by said rockably movable motion of said shuttle;

(f) removing said curved needle from said parts to be stitched and forming a stitch.