Patent ID: 7615059

Claim:
A surgical device for passing a suture and dart assembly, the device comprising. a body portion, an extension portion projecting distally from the body portion and comprising a longitudinal axis, a dart transport jaw and a dart capturing jaw, wherein both jaws are pivotable toward the longitudinal axis, a jaw manipulator capable of moving the jaws simultaneously toward the longitudinal axis and comprising a pair of moveable levers extending from the body portion, a firing member mounted on the body portion for movement relative to the body portion between prefired and fired positions; the dart transport jaw and the dart capturing jaw each having a major tissue gripping surface, the jaws being operatively associated with the jaw manipulator for movement between a release position with the major tissue gripping surfaces of the jaws spaced apart to receive tissue, and a clamped position with the major tissue gripping surfaces of the jaws spaced closer together than in the release position and adapted to manipulate tissue therebetween, the jaws being sized and shaped to define a tissue receiving region that is located proximal relative to the major tissue gripping surfaces when the jaws are in the clamped position, the dart transport jaw including a channel capable of being loaded with at least a portion of a suture and dart assembly, a firing assembly operatively associated with the firing member for passing the suture and dart assembly from the dart transport jaw to the dart capturing jaw when the jaws are in the clamped position, and the dart capturing jaw including a dart capturing member capable of associating the suture and dart assembly with the dart capturing jaw after the firing member is moved from the pre-fired to the fired position with the jaws in the clamped position, wherein the firing assembly includes a dart cam receivable within a substantially internal channel in the dart transport jaw, and wherein the suture and dart assembly comprises a dart, the dart cam having a distal surface adapted to engage a shoulder surface on the dart of the suture and dart assembly, and a pusher operatively associated with the firing member to move the dart cam from a retracted position situated within the channel of the dart transport jaw to a projecting position with at least a portion of the dart cam projecting beyond the major tissue gripping surface of the dart transport jaw when the firing member moves from the prefired to the fired position.