Patent ID: 8808312

Claim:
A method of treating a patient, comprising: providing a surgical instrument having proximal and distal ends, the surgical instrument including a recess sized to contain at least part of a soft tissue anchor; associating a sling with the surgical instrument, wherein the associating includes placing at least part of a soft tissue anchor connected to the sling into the recess; inserting the distal end of the surgical instrument into the body of a patient; and deploying the soft tissue anchor from the recess and anchoring the soft tissue anchor in a tissue of the patient, wherein the soft tissue anchor is a hook characterized by a curved portion defining a gap between a tip of the hook and a linear portion of the hook, and the recess is partially defined by a pair of distal members and a pair of proximal members, each of the pair of distal members and the pair of proximal members including a first member and a second member, the tip of the hook being disposed between the first member and the second member of the pair of distal members such that the tip of the hook is at least partially shielded from the tissue by the pair of distal members, at least a portion of the curved portion being disposed between the first member and the second member of the pair of proximal members such that the curved portion is at least partially shielded from the tissue by the pair of proximal members.