Patent ID: 8506581

Claim:
An endoscopic stitching device, comprising: a tool assembly including: a pair of juxtaposed jaws pivotally associated with one another, each jaw defining a needle receiving recess formed in a tissue contacting surface thereof; a drive assembly including first and second barrels rotatable and translatable independent of each other, the first and second barrels defining a central lumen therethrough; and a pair of needle engaging blades slidably supported, one each, in a respective jaw, each blade having an advanced position wherein a distal end of the blade engages a suture needle when the suture needle is in the respective jaw to thereby secure the suture needle to the jaw, and a retracted position wherein the distal end of the blade is out of engagement with the suture needle to thereby permit the suture needle to be removed from the jaw, wherein a proximal end of each blade is rotatably connected to a respective barrel; and a center rod slidably and rotatably disposed through the lumen of the barrels, a distal end of the center rod being operatively engaged with the pair of jaws.