Patent ID: 7001332

Claim:
A suture deflector for retracting a body tissue of a patient by deflecting a surgical suture attached to said body tissue, said body tissue being located within a body cavity of said patient, said body cavity being located generally below the skin surface of said patient, said body tissue being accessed during surgery through a surgical window in said skin surface, said surgical window being created by a skin retractor, said body tissue being retracted in a first retracted position generally along a first retraction direction when said surgical suture is tensioned between said body tissue and said skin retractor without being deflected by said suture deflector, said suture deflector comprising: a securing mechanism for attachment to said skin retractor; a deflection member extending from said securing mechanism, said deflection member defining a suture contacting section for contacting said surgical suture intermediate said body tissue and said skin retractor and imparting a deflecting force on said surgical suture, said suture contacting section being configured so as to prevent the severing of said surgical suture upon said deflecting force being applied thereon, said deflection member being configured and sized so as to minimize obstruction of said surgical window when said surgical suture is deflected by said deflection member; said suture deflector being movable between a non-deflecting configuration and a deflecting configuration, wherein in said non-deflecting configuration said suture contacting section contacts said surgical suture while said body tissue remains retracted in said first retracted position, and, in said deflecting configuration, said suture contacting section imparts said deflecting force on said surgical suture causing said body tissue to be retracted towards a second retracted position generally along a second retraction direction.