Patent ID: 8551121

Claim:
A suture passing instrument comprising: a housing having a first cannulation and a second cannulation that is in communication with the first cannulation, such that a tissue receiving gap disposed between the first and second cannulations, the second cannulation having a curved portion; a pusher including a body, a first tissue penetrating end extending from the body, and a second opposed tissue penetrating end extending from the body, the pusher being translatable within the first and second cannulations of the housing; and a shuttling element configured to carry a strand of suture across the tissue receiving gap, the shuttling element being slidably coupled to the body of the pusher between the first and second tissue penetrating ends such that the shuttling element is slidable along the body between the first and second tissue penetrating ends, wherein the shuttling element is configured to be (i) pushed across the tissue receiving gap in a first direction by the first tissue penetrating end and (ii) pushed across the tissue receiving gap in a second direction by the second tissue penetrating end.