Patent ID: 7976554

Claim:
A surgical instrument comprising: an elongate shaft; a working end platform formed on a distal end portion of the elongate shaft; a stabilizing pin movably mounted to said platform, said stabilizing pin actuatable from a recessed position in which a tip of said stabilizing pin is concealed within said platform to a stabilizing position where said tip extends out of said platform, and vice versa; a stitching needle rotatably mounted relative to said elongate shaft and rotatable from a concealed position in which a tip of said stitching needle is concealed within said platform to an exit position where said tip is inserted into a suture anchor releasably attached to said platform, and counter-rotatable from said position where said tip is inserted into said suture anchor to said position in which said tip is concealed within said platform; and a suture releasably mounted on said stitching needle, said suture including a catch member fixed to a distal end portion of said suture, wherein said stitching needle delivers said suture to said suture anchor when driven from said concealed position to said exit position, and wherein said catch member is retained by said suture anchor, preventing said suture from returning to said concealed position when said stitching needle counter-rotates to said concealed position.