The present disclosure relates generally to a knotting tube, and more particularly, to a knotting tube used as a suture lock that receives both suture ends and locks the suture against a surgical site.
Generally, sutures are used in medical procedures to close surgical wounds, hold tissues together, or the like. Conventionally, a suture looped through a needle is passed in and out of a surgical site to close the wound. Such a procedure requires accurate manipulation and requires the application of sufficient tension to secure the suture against the surgical site. For example, as seen in
However, human error may cause insufficient tension to be applied to the knot, thus causing less accuracy in the closing of a wound. The traditional knot tying technique is time consuming and requires extensive training for medical professionals to be capable of accurately securing the suture to a surgical site. Further, during endoscopic or laparoscopic surgeries, the knot tying procedure of the suture is executed remotely from the surgical site and the knot is manipulated using a medical instruction to slide the knot toward the surgical site. Such a manipulation and remote execution further increases the risk of human error.
Various techniques have been researched for improving the accuracy of these medical procedures, such as for example, a clip applied to the ends of the suture. However, such a technique is limited in application due to the size thereof and difficulty of manipulation near the tissue. The technique is thus not capable of being applied against a surgical site with sufficient tension to accurately close a wound. The length and rigid property of such a clip may also cause potential injury to neighboring tissues. Accordingly, to improve feasibility of medical procedures it is necessary to provide a device that decreases the training time of traditional knot tying sutures while increasing the accuracy of tension against a surgical site.
We now provide a knotting tube used as a suture lock that receives both suture ends and locks the suture against a surgical site.
According to one aspect, a suture lock is provided that comprises a tube having a passageway formed therethrough and a plurality of protrusions that extend from at least a portion of an inner surface of the tube to pierce a suture. In particular, the tube receives both ends of the suture through the passageway and is moved to abut a surgical site. The protrusions are deformable in one direction to thus lock the suture and maintain the tube abutting the surgical site. Additionally, the protrusions may be formed at varied lengths, at an angle less than 90 degrees, and in various shapes including a barb, valve, thorn, hook, and the like.
According to another aspect, a longitudinal side of the tube may be open to receive the suture through a side opening. In addition, a handle may be disposed at an opposite side of the side opening. The inner surface of the tube may have a rough topography to grasp and lock the suture against the surgical site. The suture lock may also be made of a biomaterial.
In another exemplary embodiment, two tubes may be disposed adjacently to receive multiple sutures. A guide may further be provided to pull both ends of the sutures through each tube passageway. The tube of each suture may have a varied cross-sectional shape such as a circular, rectangular, and triangular cross-sectional shape. The lock suture itself may also be formed in a bead shape having protrusions formed on an inner surface thereof to pierce the suture.
According to another aspect, a method of locking a suture against tissue is provided. In particular, the method may include pulling the suture through the tissue by piercing a needled engaged with the suture through the tissue and then passing the ends of the suture through a tube of a suture lock. The suture lock may then be pushed against the tissue to engage the suture in the tube with protrusions extending from at least a portion of an inner surface of the tube to pierce the suture and lock the suture against the tissue.
Notably, the present invention is not limited to the combination of the knotting tube elements as listed above and may be assembled in any combination of the elements as described herein.
Other aspects of the invention are disclosed infra.
The embodiments herein may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate identically or functionally similar elements, of which:
The presently disclosed subject matter will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. The presently disclosed subject matter may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Indeed, many modifications and other exemplary embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the presently disclosed subject matter pertains, having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other exemplary embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.”
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a knotting tube that is used as a suture lock having a tube and protrusions formed as one integrated component. The knotting tube allows for a simplified manner of securing a suture against a surgical site during a medical procedure. That is, the knotting tube omits the need for a knot to be tied to lock the suture against the surgical site which requires accurate technique and extensive training.
Further,
According to one exemplary embodiment, a guide may further be provided as shown in
Particularly, once the suture has been pulled through a surgical site (e.g., tissue) by the piercing of a needled engaged with the suture through the tissue, the suture threads 405 may be looped around the guide 305 to pass through the passageway of the tube 205, as shown in
In another exemplary embodiment, multiple suture locks may be used in conjunction. For example, as shown in
Furthermore, once the suture has been moved, pulled, or slid through the passageway of the tube, the knotting tube or suture lock may be pushed up against the surgical site. For example,
Moreover, the suture threads are then blocked from moving in a backward direction (e.g., an opposite direction to the entry into the passageway) to thus maintain the position of the suture lock against the surgical site.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the suture lock may be formed with an opening in a longitudinal side thereof. As shown in
As discussed above, the knotting tube of the claimed disclosure is capable of reducing errors occurring during the process of suture tying while reducing training time for medical staff. The particular design of the knotting tube eliminates the need for complex techniques and external devices. The tube may also be made of a material to encourage cell growth over the tube itself to absorb the tube. Accordingly, the knotting tube of the claimed disclosure provides a single integrated device capable of simplifying the process of suture tying for medical procedures.
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/309,569, filed Mar. 17, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US17/22899 | 3/17/2017 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62309569 | Mar 2016 | US |