The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 28, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 14, 1999
Kevin A Harper, Mason, OH (US);
Julie D Dober, Arenzville, IL (US);
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Cincinatti, OH (US);
Abstract
A surgical instrument is described for tying together the two free ends of a suture placed into the tissue of a surgical patient. The surgical device comprises a handle having an actuator, an elongated shaft attached to the handle, a cartridge, and a pusher. The cartridge removeably attaches to the shaft and comprises a cable with two free cable ends with suture connectors attached thereto. The cable has a plurality of pre-tied loops disposed proximally to the two free cable ends. The pusher is slideably disposed on the shaft and transfers the pre-tied loops from the cable to the two free suture ends of the suture filament. In a preferred embodiment, the pusher comprises a lug train and a driver. The lug train has a plurality of lugs flexibly attached to each other and slideably attached to the distal end of the shaft. When the cartridge is attached to the distal end of the shaft, each of the pre-tied loops is positioned operationally over a corresponding lug. When the actuator is actuated, the driver moves the lug train distally along a top surface of the shaft, around the distal end, and then proximally along a bottom surface of the shaft, whereby the loops are released from the distal end of the instrument.