Patent ID: 7261723

Claim:
A surgical assembly comprising: a surgical passer having a wire portion coupled to a handle, the wire portion having a free distal end, having an outer periphery, and having at least one recess therein in a distal end region; a tube element having a proximal end, a tissue penetrating distal end, and a channel extending therein from an opening at the proximal end and defined by an inner periphery, the channel having at least one projection projecting outwardly into the channel in a distal end region thereof; wherein the outer periphery of the surgical passer is dimensioned relative to the inner periphery of the channel of the tube element so that the surgical passer is positionable within the tube element, and wherein, when so positioned, the at least one tube element projection engages the at least one surgical passer recess to removably couple the surgical passer to the tube element, wherein there is substantially no interference between the surgical passer and tube element other than from the at least one tube element projection.