Patent ID: 7875056

Claim:
A suture retainer comprising: a unitary first retainer body member extending from a first proximal end to a first distal end, the first retainer body member comprising: a first flange forming a majority of the first distal end; a first channel formed through the first flange; and a first suture contact surface extending proximally from the first channel; a unitary second retainer body member extending from a second proximal end to a second distal end the second retainer body member comprising: a second flange forming a majority of the second proximal end; a second channel formed through the second flange; and a second suture contact surface extending distally from the second channel, wherein the first suture contact surface and the second suture contact surface define a suture contact axis; and a unitary coiled biasing member surrounding at least a majority of the first and second suture contact surfaces and extending between the first flange and the second flange, the coiled biasing member being adapted to bias the first and second contact surfaces toward each other, wherein the first proximal end is slidably disposed in the second channel and the second distal end is slidably disposed in the first channel, and further wherein the suture retainer has a first position in which the suture contact surfaces are at a first distance from each other and a second position in which the suture contact surfaces are at a second distance from each other, the suture retainer being adapted to retain a suture between the first and second suture contact surfaces when in the first position, the first and second channels forming a movement guide permitting relative movement between the first and second contact surfaces along a movement axis not perpendicular to the suture contact axis.