Claims
- 1. A surgical instrument for treating female urinary stress incontinence comprising:
a) a tape for implanting into the lower abdomen of a female to provide support to the urethra; b) a removable sheath surrounding the tape; and c) a curved needle-like element defining in part a curved shaft having a distal end and a proximal end, and means at the distal end for attaching to the tape.
- 2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein the diameter of the needle varies from the distal end to the proximal end.
- 3. The surgical instrument of claim 2 wherein the distal end of the needle has a diameter from about 3 mm to about 5 mm.
- 4. The surgical instrument of claim 3 wherein the proximal end of the needle has a diameter from about 5 mm to about 6 mm.
- 5. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein the tape comprises connecting means and the needle comprises attaching means for detachably accepting the connecting means.
- 6. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein the connecting means is a tab-like element and the attaching means is a slot.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present invention claims the benefit of earlier-filed U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/138,231, filed on Jun. 9, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60138231 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09521801 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09883565 |
Jun 2001 |
US |