Patent ID: 7879046

Claim:
A suture passing instrument comprising: a proximal handle and an elongated distal shaft having a distal end; a grasping mechanism positioned adjacent to the distal end, the grasping mechanism including a top jaw and a bottom jaw, at least one of the top jaw and the bottom jaw hinged to the shaft at a position proximal to the distal end, the grasping mechanism operationally coupled to the handle for opening and closing the top jaw and the bottom jaw with respect to one another at the distal end; the bottom jaw extending distally from the elongate shaft, the bottom jaw having an axis, a needle channel, and a channel exit, the bottom jaw further comprising a top, a bottom, and a forked distal end that defines an end slot extending through the jaw from the top to the bottom, the end slot leading to a suture-slot that extends axially along the jaw from the forked distal end, the suture slot extending through the jaw from the top to the bottom in communication with and in substantial alignment with the needle channel, the end slot having a slot width tapering proximally toward the slot end for frictionally retaining an intermediate portion of a length of suture; and a suture needle longitudinally positionable within and distally deployable from the shaft, the needle having a open-sided notch engageable with the intermediate portion of suture, for passing the suture when the needle is deployed from the shaft, the needle operationally coupled to the handle for positioning and deployment.