The present disclosure includes a suturing device including: a fixed arm having a fixed jaw including a first grasping slot configured to receive a needle; a movable arm coupled to a movable jaw including a second grasping slot configured to receive the needle, the movable arm configured to pivot relative to the fixed arm to pivot the movable jaw relative to the fixed jaw until the needle is received in the first grasping slot and the second grasping slot; and a needle transfer mechanism configured to grasp the needle in the first grasping slot or the second grasping slot. In some aspects, the suturing device includes a safety member configured to control when the movable arm moves. The present disclosure includes a loading apparatus including a loading slot configured to receive a fixed jaw and a slider configured to move the needle towards into the fixed jaw.

The invention provides a device for delivering surgical sutures. Significantly, the device is capable of delivering sutures of any size stitch width or stitch length. For minimally invasive surgeries such as laparoscopic surgery or endoscopic surgery, the device allows for delivering sutures of a stitch width and depth that is not constrained by the diameter of the shaft of the instrument. Further, the device provides flexibility that improves the maneuverability and degrees of freedom in the range of motion in difficult-to-reach surgical sites. For example, devices of the invention provide for delivering sutures at an angle substantially offset from the axis of the instrument. This flexibility contributes to providing more secure sutures at a range of challenging surgical sites.

The present invention provides a suturing device to minimize interference and obstructions during intricate surgeries. The curled suture device is significantly shorter than traditional suturing kits by featuring a needle attached to a specially manufactured thread incorporating a stopping mechanism preceding an angular, semi-rigid portion of thread followed by a curled portion of thread arranged in a corkscrew configuration. The stopping mechanism halts the movement of the thread as the needle and thread intermediate the needle and stopping mechanism is pulled through the suture point, securing the remainder of the thread for access. The semi-rigid portion of thread is thereby utilized in conjunction with its curled portion of thread, allowing for the user's unabated access to the corkscrew configuration to form a ready-made knot, minimizing interference and obstruction during surgery. The thread may be manufactured to form an additional semi-rigid and curled portions of thread upon creation of a knot.

A method of making a suture needle having a bendable region includes obtaining a suture needle made of a martensitic alloy having an austenitic transition temperature. The suture needle has a proximal section, a distal section with a sharpened tip, and a bendable region located between the proximal and distal sections. The method includes heating the suture needle to a first temperature that is greater than the austenitic transition temperature of the martensitic alloy and quenching the suture needle to room temperature to harden the martensitic alloy, After heating and quenching, the bendable region of the suture needle is heated locally to a second temperature that is above 800 degrees Celsius, but below the austenitic transition temperature of the martensitic alloy so that the bendable region is softened and made more flexible relative to the proximal and distal sections of the suture needle.

A suture system can comprise a first and a second curved double arm needle, and a needle docking device configured to maintain the first and the second curved double arm needles in alignment with and parallel to one another and at predetermined orientations relative to the needle docking device. The system can include a needle manipulating instrument having a distal portion configured to engage the first and the second curved double arm needles while the first and second curved double arm needles are in the needle docking device, and to maintain the needles in predetermined orientations.

Devices and methods of endolumenal formation of gastric sleeves are described. Some embodiments allow templating of a gastric sleeve by a gastric bougie, exposing a selected amount of tissue for suturing access, while maintaining sufficient internal working space for suturing within the template lumen.

Some suturing devices include a pair of flexible arms configured to force two pieces of tissue together and form a protrusion defined by the two pieces of tissue. Some suturing devices include a third flexible arm including a movable needle configured to apply a suture through both pieces of tissue of the protrusion. Some suturing devices include an actuator configured to move each flexible arm of the pair of flexible arms independently relative to the tissue and move the third flexible arm relative to the tissue. Some suturing devices include a pump configured to generate a suction force through the pair of flexible arms to force the tissue towards the pair of flexible arms.

An instrument for performing thorascopic repair of heart valves includes a shaft for extending through the chest cavity and into a heart chamber providing access to a valve needing repair. A movable tip on the shaft is operable to capture a valve leaflet and a needle is operable to penetrate a capture valve leaflet and draw the suture therethrough. The suture is thus fastened to the valve leaflet and the instrument is withdrawn from the heart chamber transporting the suture outside the heart chamber. The suture is anchored to the heart wall with proper tension as determined by observing valve operation with an ultrasonic imaging system.

A needle and suture assembly is provided for use with an endoscopic suturing device with a needle holder arm. The needle assembly includes a needle tip and a needle body. The needle tip has a sharp end, a capture groove, a tab groove and a plug portion positioned between the capture groove and the tab groove. The needle body has first and second ends, tip tabs, retainers for removably retaining the needle body relative to the needle holder arm, and a suture opening. The needle tip is fixed relative to the needle body by plastic deformation of the tip tabs into the tab groove. A suture extends into the suture opening of the needle body and is fixed therein.

A tissue repair construct having first and second implants coupled via a flexible element is provided. The flexible element forms an adjustable loop closed with a sliding knot, and has first and second free ends extending from the knot formed by wrapping the second end around the first end. The second implant can have a changeable configuration. The construct can be placed within a surgical site in a patient's body such that the first implant is passed into a bone adjacent to soft tissue and the second implant is disposed on an opposed side of the soft tissue. The first free end of the flexible element is configured to be tensioned to decrease a size of the loop and thereby change the configuration of the second implant and to thereby cause at least the second implant to move towards the first implant.