Patent ID: 8070672

Claim:
A surgical instrument for implanting an implantable material to a pelvic region, the instrument comprising: a handle having a longitudinal axis and an elongate width dimension normal to the longitudinal axis, the elongate width dimension defining a midplane, a needle portion extending from the handle along the longitudinal axis, the needle portion comprising a spacer portion connected to the handle, a three-dimensional region connected to the spacer portion distal from the handle, and having structure in three dimensions, and comprising a needle end portion, and a needle distal end at the distal end of the three-dimensional region, wherein the needle portion is sized and shaped to extend between an incision substantially adjacent to a patient's obturator foramen, through the obturator foramen, and to a medial incision; and wherein the needle distal end is located at an angle between 20 to 70 degrees from the midplane when viewed along the longitudinal axis; an angle between an axis of the needle end portion and the midplane, the angle being an acute angle defined by a needle tip, an intersection of the axis and midplane, and the longitudinal axis when viewed along the longitudinal axis, is in the range from 30 degrees to 60 degrees; an angle between the axis of the needle end portion, and a circle having an origin at the longitudinal axis and a radius defined by the needle distal end, when viewed along the longitudinal axis, is less than 15 degrees; and the three-dimensional region has a diameter in the range from 1.25 to 5 inches.