Patent ID: 7422557

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 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, and wherein an angle between an axis of the needle end portion and the midplane, the angle being an acute angle defined by the 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.