Patent ID: 7147651

Claim:
A method of suturing tissue within a body, comprising the steps of: providing a suture strand having an elongated stiff portion at one end adjacent to an elongated non-stiff flexible portion, the elongated stiff portion further including a non-stiff leading tip to facilitate passing of the suture strand through a bend of a cannulated instrument; advancing the non-stiff leading tip with the elongated stiff portion through the cannulated instrument, the cannulated instrument being provided with a sharp cannulated tip; positioning the cannulated instrument with the non-stiff leading tip and the elongated stiff portion in the proximity of a tissue to be sutured; penetrating the tissue to be sutured with the sharp tip of the cannulated instrument; advancing the suture strand through the cannulated instrument so that the non-stiff leading tip is exposed at the cannulated tip of the instrument; and retrieving the suture end having the elongated stiff portion and pulling the non-stiff leading tip and the elongated stiff portion through the tissue to be sutured.