Patent ID: 8888795

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: an elongate member having a handle and a shaft, the shaft having a sharp tip being configured to pierce bodily tissue, the handle being cylindrical, the handle defining a lumen, the handle defining a slot on an outer surface of the handle, the slot extending along an axis parallel to a central axis of the handle, the slot having an open end at a distal end of the handle and a closed end at a proximal end portion of the handle; an actuator slidably coupled to the handle and being entirely disposed below the outer surface of the handle, the actuator being configured to be accessible through the slot, the actuator being moveable from a first position to a second position different than the first position, the actuator being configured to move along a direction parallel to the central axis from a position in which a portion of the actuator is retracted into the lumen of the handle to a position in which the actuator is at least partially extended from the distal end of the handle; and a thread member having a proximal end portion coupled to the actuator and a distal end portion defining a receiving portion, the thread member being moveable from a first position to a second position different than the first position when the actuator is moved from its first position to its second position, the thread member being entirely disposed within a lumen defined by the shaft when the thread member is in its first position, a portion of the thread member extending from a distal opening defined by the shaft when the thread member is in its second position.