Endoscopic suturing device and related method and suture
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- an endoscope including an elongate flexible outer tubular member and a biopsy channel extending longitudinally through said tubular member;
an elongate flexible rod member slidably disposed inside said biopsy channel;
a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle being disposed in a straightened configuration at least partially inside said biopsy channel distally of a distal end of said rod member;
a suture having an end attached to a proximal end of said needle; and
means for closing said suture upon an ejection of said needle from said biopsy channel by a distally directed motion of said rod member and a subsequent assumption by said needle of said arcuate configuration.
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Abstract
An endoscopic suturing device comprises an endoscope and a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend the needle into an arcuate configuration. The endoscope includes an elongate flexible outer tubular member and a biopsy channel extending longitudinally through the tubular member. A flexible inner tubular member is disposed inside the biopsy channel of the outer tubular member, while the needle is disposed in a straightened configuration at least part partially inside the inner tubular member at a distal end thereof. The surgical instrument further comprises an ejector device in the form of an elongate flexible rod member slidably disposed inside the inner tubular member proximally of the needle for ejecting the needle from the inner tubular member. A suture is provided with an end attached to a proximal end of the needle, while a closure device in the form of a forceps is provided for closing the suture upon an ejection of the needle from the biopsy channel by a distally directed motion of the rod member and a subsequent assumption by the needle of the arcuate configuration.
1084 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument comprising:
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an endoscope including an elongate flexible outer tubular member and a biopsy channel extending longitudinally through said tubular member; an elongate flexible rod member slidably disposed inside said biopsy channel; a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle being disposed in a straightened configuration at least partially inside said biopsy channel distally of a distal end of said rod member; a suture having an end attached to a proximal end of said needle; and means for closing said suture upon an ejection of said needle from said biopsy channel by a distally directed motion of said rod member and a subsequent assumption by said needle of said arcuate configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A surgical suturing assembly comprising:
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an elongate flexible tubular member having a diameter sufficiently small so that said tubular member is slidably insertable into a biopsy channel extending longitudinally through a flexible tubular endoscope member; an elongate flexible rod member slidably disposed inside said elongate flexible tubular member; a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle being disposed in a straightened configuration at least partially inside said tubular member distally of a distal end of said rod member; and a suture having an end attached to a proximal end of said needle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A surgical instrument comprising:
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an endoscope including an elongate flexible outer tubular member and a biopsy channel extending longitudinally through said tubular member; a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle being disposed in a straightened configuration at least partially inside said biopsy channel at a distal end thereof; means for ejecting said needle from said biopsy channel; a suture having an end attached to a proximal end of said needle; and means for closing said suture upon an ejection of said needle from said biopsy channel by a distally directed motion of said rod member and a subsequent assumption by said needle of said arcuate configuration. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A suture device comprising:
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a thread member provided along at least a portion of its length with a series of resilient projections, said thread member having an outer diameter defined by said projections; a loop member defining an opening having a linear dimension substantially larger than said outer diameter; and joining means for connecting one end of said thread member to said loop member, at least one of said joining means and said loop member defining at least in part an aperture having a linear dimension smaller than said outer diameter, said aperture communicating with said opening defined by said loop; locking means, provided on at least one of said joining means and said loop member, for preventing a removal of said thread member from said aperture upon a passing of said thread member through said loop member and a subsequent pulling of said thread member into said aperture from said loop member; and a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle having a sharp end and being attached at an opposite end to a free end of said thread member. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A suture device comprising:
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a thread member provided along at least a portion of its length with a series of resiliently collapsible projections, said thread member having an outer diameter defined by said projections; a loop member defining an opening having a linear dimension substantially larger than said outer diameter; joining means for connecting one end of said thread member to said loop member, at least one of said joining means and said loop member defining at least in part an aperture having a linear dimension smaller than said outer diameter, said aperture communicating with said opening defined by said loop; locking means, provided on at least one of said joining means and said loop member, for preventing a removal of said thread member from said aperture upon a passing of said thread member through said loop member and a subsequent pulling of said thread member into said aperture from said loop member; and a needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle having a sharp end and being attached at an opposite end to a free end of said thread member. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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42. A surgical needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle being bendable into a straightened configuration, said needle having a sharp tip at one end, said needle being provided at an opposite end with means for attaching said needle to a suture.
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43. A method for performing a surgical operation on internal body tissues of a patient, comprising the steps of:
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inserting a tubular endoscope member through an aperture in the patient'"'"'s body; using said endoscope to visually locate the internal body tissues inside the patient'"'"'s body; upon locating said surgical site, pushing an elongate flexible rod member in a distal direction through a biopsy channel in said tubular endoscope member to eject a needle disposed in a straightened configuration inside said channel at a distal end of said tubular endoscope member, said needle having a spring bias construction tending to bend said needle into an arcuate configuration, said needle having a proximal end attached to a suture; upon ejection of said needle from said channel, passing said needle in said arcuate configuration through the internal body tissues; upon passing of said needle through the internal body tissues, closing said suture; and upon closure of said suture, withdrawing said tubular endoscope member out of the patient'"'"'s body though said aperture. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A surgical instrument comprising:
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an endoscope including an elongate flexible outer tubular member and a first biopsy channel and a second biopsy channel both extending longitudinally through said tubular member, said outer tubular member being formed with an elongate connecting channel connecting said first biopsy channel to said second biopsy channel along their lengths; a suture device comprising a thread member provided along at least a portion of its length with a series of resilient projections, said thread member having an outer diameter defined by said projections; a loop member defining an opening having a linear dimension substantially larger than said outer diameter; and joining means for connecting one end of said thread member to said loop member, at least one of said joining means and said loop member defining at least in part an aperture having a linear dimension smaller than said outer diameter, said aperture communicating with said opening defined by said loop; locking means, provided on at least one of said joining means and said loop member, for preventing a removal of said thread member from said aperture upon a passing of said thread member through said loop member and a subsequent pulling of said thread member into said aperture from said loop member; and a first elongate flexible member slidably inserted in said first biopsy channel, said first elongate flexible member including holding means at a distal end for holding said thread member of said suture device; and a second elongate flexible member slidably inserted in said second biopsy channel, said second elongate flexible member being provided at a distal end with grasping means for grasping a free end of said thread member upon a moving of at least an end portion of said thread member out from said first biopsy channel upon a distally directed motion of said first elongate flexible member, said loop member being traversed in said second biopsy channel by said second elongate flexible member, said thread member extending from said loop member through said connecting channel to said first biopsy channel.
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Specification