Suturing method and apparatus

Abstract

A suturing apparatus comprises an elongated body, at least one arms movable relative to the elongated body and at least one needle movable relative to the elongated body. The arm releasably holds an end portion of a length of suture. The arm has a sharp end portion adapted to pierce an inner surface of a wall of a biological structure and pass an end portion of the suture through the inner surface. The needle is adapted to pierce the inner surface of such biological structure at a location proximal to the location where the end portion of the suture was inserted. The needle captures an end portion of the suture from the arm and draws the end portion of the suture back through the inner surface. The end of the suture is then drawn out of the biological structure by removing the elongated body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 882,821, filed Jun. 14, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 211,763, filed Jun. 14, 2000, the entirety of both which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to medical devices, and more specifically to suturing devices and methods for applying suture to internal biological structures. The suturing devices and methods are well-suited for passing suture through the wall of a tubular biological structure from a location within the lumen or around the ostium for the purpose of closing the tubular biological structure. The suturing devices and methods are particularly well-suited for tubal sterilization. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Each year, many thousands of women undergo some form of tubal sterilization in the United S...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017] The preferred embodiments of the present invention describe devices and methods for applying suture to internal biological structures. The suturing devices provide means for quickly and easily applying suture to areas of the body that are often difficult to access with existing suturing devices and methods. The suturing mechanism of these devices can be operated remotely from outside the body, thereby making it possible to perform a wide variety of surgical procedures in a minimally invasive or non-invasive manner.

[0020] In another embodiment, the arms of the suturing device can be operated independently, thereby allowing each end portion of the suture length to be applied separately. This modification is ideally suited for closing a gap between a first body structure and a second body structure or for attaching tissue to an adjacent body structure, such as, in the treatment of bladder or uterine prolapse. This modification is also ideally suited for use in achieving male sterilization wherein the suturing device is used to loop suture around a vas deferens.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, these tubal sterilization procedures are quite invasive and involve the formation of one or more incisions.

While this procedure has become quite popular with patients because of the shortened recovery time and reduced scarring, this method has been shown to have a higher complication rate than traditional vaginal or abdominal techniques.

Once the target site is accessed, the application of suture to the biological structure is often cumbersome and time consuming due to the anatomy of the biological structure or the consistency of the tissue.

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