Patent ID: 6605097
Filing Date: 2003-08-12
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
A surgical instrument for introducing a support strand into the body to treat female urinary incontinence, comprising:an elongated, curved shaft having a distal end insertable into the body, said shaft having a lumen therein extending at least a portion of the length of said shaft and terminating at said distal end and through which the support strand may pass in an axial direction, said shaft having a slot on an exterior surface thereof communicating with said lumen along at least a portion of the length thereof starting at said distal end, said slot allowing the support strand to be laterally passed between said lumen to a position outside said shaft; and a pointed element, removably positionable on said distal end of said shaft, said pointed element facilitating the insertion of said shaft through the body and connectable at one end to the support strand, said pointed element being dimensioned to prevent passage through said lumen when said shaft is inserted through the body, wherein said pointed element is a flexible needle slidably receivable in said lumen and having a pointed tip at a first end and an eye at a second end, said eye removably receiving the strand therein.