Patent ID: 6866673

Claim:
An implement for manipulating a knotted suture to properly locate the knot thereof with respect to tissue being sutured, and then for removing excess suture from the knot, said implement comprising: a body member including a handle at one end, and a knot-engageable section at the opposite end for engaging and moving the knotted suture by manipulation of the handle; and a cutting member carried by said body member and movable with respect thereto; said cutting member including a finger-piece at one end proximate to said handle, and a cutting edge at the opposite end proximate to said knot-engageable section of the body member; said finger-piece being movable with respect to said handle from a normal position wherein said cutting edge is disengaged from the suture at the knot-engageable section of the body member, to an actuated position during which said cutting edge engages and cuts the suture at a predetermined distance from said knot, such that the body member may be manipulated to engage the knotted suture and to properly locate the knot with respect to the tissue being sutured, and then the finger-piece of the cutting member may be moved from its normal position to its actuated position to cut the suture at a predetermined distance from the knot and thereby to remove a predetermined excess of the suture; said handle including two loops joined together at one end forming recesses at the juncture which recesses are engageable by two fingers of the user for manipulating the implement.