Patent ID: 7883519

Claim:
A suture manipulating instrument, comprising: first and second handles manually movable relative to each other to open and closed positions; an elongated shaft having a proximal end fixed to said first handle, and a distal end defining a first jaw engageable with a suture to be manipulated; a second jaw movably mounted to said distal end of said elongated shaft to open and closed positions with respect to said first jaw; and a coupling between said second handle and said second jaw for moving said second jaw to its open and closed positions with respect to said first jaw upon the movement of said second handle to open and closed positions with respect to said first handle; said first and second jaws being formed with confronting surfaces configured to firmly grasp a suture between them in the closed position of said second jaw with respect to said first jaw; the entire surface of the distal end of said first jaw opposite to its surface confronting the second jaw being outwardly curved away from the axis of said shaft according to a helical configuration, and being tapered towards its distal tip such as to define a sharp piercing tip facing away from the axis of said shaft, for piercing tissue, and for advancing said piercing tip through the pierced tissue with the suture caught between said confronting surfaces of the closed jaws before or after the tissue is pierced, by rotating said elongated shaft about its axis.