Patent ID: 9717524
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method of closing a vaginal cuff of a vaginal canal, the vaginal cuff being formed at a distal end of the vaginal canal and the vaginal canal forming a vaginal opening at a proximal end of the vaginal canal, the method comprising: advancing a hollow sleeve member with an open interior section and a sleeve proximal and a sleeve distal end into a patient's anatomy; advancing a first probe and a second probe through the open interior section of the hollow sleeve member and into the patient's anatomy through the sleeve distal end, the first probe having a first tissue manipulator disposed at a probe distal end of the first probe and the second probe having a second tissue manipulator disposed at a probe distal end of the second probe; grasping a first tissue portion of the vaginal cuff with the first tissue manipulator and grasping a second tissue portion of the vaginal cuff with the second tissue manipulator, the first and second tissue portions being spaced apart from each other by a lateral space; moving at least one of the hollow sleeve member and the first and second probes relative to each other by advancing the hollow sleeve member toward the vaginal cuff over the first and second probes, thereby bringing together the distal ends of the first and second probes and the first and second tissue portions to reduce or eliminate the lateral space.