Surgical device for suturing tissue
First Claim
1. A surgical device to assist in suturing body tissue, said surgical device comprising:
- a. a handle;
b. an elongated shaft having a proximal end attached to said handle, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween;
c. a stationary arm having a first holder for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said stationary arm attached to and extending from said distal end of said shaft, said stationary arm attached to said shaft such that its position, relative to said shaft, is fixed;
d. a movable arm having a second holder, said second holder for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said movable arm extending from said distal end of said shaft, whereby said movable arm is rotatable about said longitudinal axis of said shaft; and
e. an actuator for moving said second holder adjacent to said first holder and for passing a needle from one of said first and second holders to the other of said first and second holders.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical device is described for assisting a surgeon in suturing bodily tissue using a curved, surgical needle with a suture filament attached. The surgical device comprises a handle, an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending in between. The device further comprises a stationary arm having a first holder fixedly attached to and extending from the distal end of the shaft, and used for operationally engaging with the needle. The device also has a movable arm having a second holder extending from the distal end of the shaft and rotatable around the longitudinal axis of the device. The movable arm also is operationally engageable with the needle. An actuator is provided for cooperatively actuating the first and second holders, so as to be able to pass a needle along a circular path transverse to the longitudinal axis of the device through the tissue, and thus place the suture filament into the tissue.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A surgical device to assist in suturing body tissue, said surgical device comprising:
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a. a handle; b. an elongated shaft having a proximal end attached to said handle, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween; c. a stationary arm having a first holder for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said stationary arm attached to and extending from said distal end of said shaft, said stationary arm attached to said shaft such that its position, relative to said shaft, is fixed; d. a movable arm having a second holder, said second holder for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said movable arm extending from said distal end of said shaft, whereby said movable arm is rotatable about said longitudinal axis of said shaft; and e. an actuator for moving said second holder adjacent to said first holder and for passing a needle from one of said first and second holders to the other of said first and second holders. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A surgical device to assist in suturing body tissue, said surgical device comprising:
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a. a handle; b. an elongated shaft having a proximal end attached to said handle, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween; c. a stationary arm having a first holding means for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said stationary arm attached to and extending from said distal end of said shaft, said stationary arm attached to said shaft such that its position, relative to said shaft, is fixed; d. a movable arm having a second holding means, said second holding means for alternately holding and releasing a needle, said movable arm extending from said distal end of said shaft, whereby said movable arm is rotatable about said longitudinal axis of said shaft; e. an actuating means for moving said second holder adjacent to said first holder and for passing a needle from one of said first and second holding means to the other of said first and second holding means. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for suturing tissue, said method comprising:
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a. providing a device comprising a handle for holding said device, said handle having distal and proximal ends and first and second arms extending distally from said handle, said arms having proximal ends attached to said handle and distal ends having holders attached thereto for holding and releasing a needle, said first arm being stationary such that its position, relative to said handle is fixed, said second arm being movable such that it is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of said handle, and at least one actuator for moving said second arm such that said distal end of said arms are closely adjacent to one another and for passing said needle from one holder to the other and thereafter for moving said distal ends of said arms further apart from one another by rotating said second arm, said first holder holding a needle having a suture attached thereto; b. manually placing a distal end of said needle through said tissue; c. rotating said second arm by actuating said at least one mechanism so as to move said arms closely adjacent one another so that said second holder holds said needle, releasing said needle from said first holder, and rotating said second arm and thereby moving said distal ends of said arms further apart from one another; and d. removing said needle from said tissue.
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Specification