Patent ID: 7338504

Claim:
A suturing device comprising: (a) a gripping portion; (b) a head portion operably associated with said gripping portion, said head portion comprising: (i) a body having a shuttle track; (ii) a shuttle operably associated with said body for movement along said shuttle track between a first position and a second position, said shuttle being provided with a needle guide and at least one cavity; (iii) a needle carried by said shuttle for movement along said needle guide between a first position and a second position; and (iv) a needle engaging member carried in said at least one cavity for engagement with said needle to control movement of said needle along said needle guide; and (c) operating means operably associated with said gripping portion for moving said shuttle between said first and second positions, said operating means comprising: (i) an advancing mechanism operably associated with said shuttle for moving said shuttle to said second position; (ii) a first operating cable having a first end connected to said shuttle and a second end connected to said advancing mechanism; and (iii) a return mechanism connected to said shuttle for automatically moving said shuttle to said first position.