Patent ID: 8888796

Claim:
A device for tensioning barbed sutures comprising: a shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal and distal ends; a handle connected with the proximal end of said shaft; the distal end of said shaft including a pressure applying surface located at a distal-most end of said shaft that lies in a plane that crosses the longitudinal axis of said shaft, wherein the pressure applying surface is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, and wherein the distal end of said shaft has first and second major surfaces; a pair of aligned open grooves extending through said shaft from the pressure applying surface at the distal end of said shaft toward the proximal end of said shaft, wherein said pair of aligned open grooves extend side-by-side and in a common plane along the longitudinal axis of said shaft, wherein said pair of open grooves are open at said first major surface and face in the same direction, and wherein said device further comprises a central projection dividing said pair of open grooves from one another.