Patent ID: 8840631

Claim:
A surgical instrument assembly comprising: a rod extending between a handle and a cutter, which includes a blade and a pointed tip, and the rod defining a longitudinal axis; the cutter being movable with respect to the rod between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration; a notch being defined at least in part by the blade, when the cutter is in the deployed configuration; a segment of the rod being slidably positioned within a sheath, and the rod having a proximal end coupled to the handle and a distal end connected to the cutter such that movement of the handle relative the sheath is communicated to the cutter via the sliding of the segment of the rod; a hinge pivotably connecting the rod to the blade and forming the connection of the rod to the cutter; a cutter deployment wire external to and radially spaced from the rod, the cutter deployment wire attached at one end of the blade, and having a segment extending along the rod within the sheath; and the cutter being in the stowed configuration within the sheath, and the blade extending axially outward from the distal end of the rod, such that an attachment point of the cutter deployment wire to the blade is distal to the hinge, and moving the cutter deployment wire in a proximal direction causes the cutter to pivot toward the deployed configuration and advances the pointed tip closer to the proximal end of the rod.