Arthroscopic knot pusher and suture cutter

摘要

Knot pushers and suture cutter apparatuses to be used arthroscopically, for example, in an arthroscopic knee surgery may be operated with a single control to both lock the suture within the distal end of the apparatus and cut the suture once the knot has been pushed to the appropriate location. The apparatus may include a safety lock preventing deployment of the cutter until the safety lock (e.g., cutter release) has been released.

主权项

1. A surgical knot pusher and suture cutter apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
a handle; an elongate holding tube attached to the handle, the elongate holding tube including a lateral slot opening from a distal end of the holding tube and configured to allow a suture to pass therethrough; an inner mandrel within the holding tube, the inner mandrel having a first lateral notch extending proximally from a distal end of the inner mandrel along a side region of the inner mandrel and a second lateral notch perpendicular to the first lateral notch, wherein the inner mandrel is axially movable relative to the holding tube and is configured to capture the suture between the first notch of the inner mandrel and the holding tube when the inner mandrel is extended distally; a biased cutting region disposed on a distal end of a tubular cutter around the holding tube, wherein the tubular cutter is configured to be axially movable relative to the holding tube and wherein the biased cutting region becomes adjacent to the first and second lateral notches when the tubular cutter is at its most distal position to cut an end of the suture when the tubular cutter is extended distally; a first control on the handle configured to control an axial motion of both the inner mandrel and an axial motion of the tubular cutter; a second control on the handle configured to control rotational motion of the inner mandrel; a lock out tab coupled to the inner mandrel and configured to prevent axial movement of the inner mandrel until the lock out tab is released; and a cutter release configured to prevent axial motion of the cutter unless the cutter release is disengaged.