Patent ID: 8920441

Claim:
A method of repairing or reconstructing a tissue with a suture passer, wherein the suture passer has an elongate body with a proximal to distal long axis, a distal first arm and a distal second arm, wherein the first arm is configured to slide in the long axis to form a distal-facing opening with the second arm, the method comprising: positioning the second arm of the suture passer on one side of the tissue, with the first arm retracted so that the first arm does not form the distal-facing opening with the second arm; sliding a distal end of the first arm of the suture passer distally in the long axis relative to the second arm, after positioning the second arm, so that the tissue is positioned within the distal-facing opening formed between the first and second arms; and passing a suture through the tissue between the first arm and the second arm by extending a tissue penetrator through the tissue so that the tissue penetrator spans the distal-facing opening between the first arm and the second arm, and retracting the tissue penetrator back through the tissue.