A suture lumen for securing sutures in surgical procedures which includes a lumen with a head portion at one end of said lumen having a side projection about which suture ends may be wound to secure the ends. A notch or notches in the head portion adjacent the projection are provided to receive the free ends of the suture to prevent release until surgery is completed.

A multi-purpose surgical instrument for subcutaneous use is described. The instrument includes a generally hollow inner tube which is provided at a probing free end with a crochet-type hook. The other end, or hand-held end, is fixedly joined to a finger grip. An inner clamping rod is slideably mounted within the hollow tube and can be selectively axially moved between clamping and releasing positions at the hook and be positively locked in the clamping condition thereof. An outside cutting sleeve receives the hollow tube therein and is provided with a rotary cutting edge which is adapted to angularly turn about the axis of the hollow tube to sweep at least a portion of the hook face to thereby cut an object clamped at the hook by the rod. A cutter actuator is connected to the outside cutting sleeve and cooperates with the handle finger grip to limit the relative angular turning or displacement between the hollow tube and the outside cutting sleeve to prevent the rotary cutting edge to sweep across the entire face of the hook. This assures that an object clamped within the hook is not totally released from the hook. By providing a helical-type cam-follower arrangement between the handle or finger grip and the cutter actuator, the cutting sleeve may be made to be linearly or axially displaced simultaneously with rotary or relative angular movement between the cutting sleeve and the hollow tube or hook. By utilizing only one, two or three of the operative members of the instrument, these being the hollow tube, elongate rod or outside cutting sleeve, the instrument may be utilized for different subcutaneous procedures.

The present invention provides a device or apparatus for manipulating matter in a confined or inaccessible space, comprising manipulator means at least partly constructed of one or more bent or twisted elongate metallic members having pseudoelasticity at the intended manipulation temperature, and a hollow housing (preferably of elongate tubular form) or cannula capable of holding at least the metallic member(s) in a relatively straightened state, and actuating means for extending the metallic member(s) from the housing to manipulate matter within the said space and for withdrawing the metallic member(s) into the housing, the arrangement being such that the metallic member(s) bend(s) or twist(s) pseudoelastically in a lateral or helical sense to manipulate the matter on extending from the housing at the said manipulation temperature, and become(s) relatively straightened on withdrawal into the housing at the said temperature. Preferably the invention provides such a device or apparatus which is of elongate form for surgical manipulation of matter within a living body, and which has the manipulator means at its distal end with the metallic member(s) having pseudoelasticity at the temperature to be encountered within that body, and wherein the actuating means is operable from the proximal end of the device.

A surgical ligaturing and restraining device for small animals comprises an elongated tubular body member (10) having a noose (28) at the front end (18) operable from the rear end (12) of the body. The body front end is fitted with a cap (20) with two holes (22) (24) through its face. The noose is formed by a flexible and elastic cable (26), one end (25) of the cable is looped around passing through the holes in the cap. Said cable end (25) is attached to the cable itself around cable middle portion by attachment means (30). The cable runs through the inside of the body and emerges substantially from the body rear end (12). The body rear end has two short longitudinally extending slots (14) (16), each slot has one extremity open to the rear end. The slots are diametrically opposite each other, dividing the tubular body into two sides (32) (34). One side (32) is made shorter than the opposite side (34 ), so as to facilitate the locking action. The device is applied by placing the noose around an object. The noose is tightened by pulling on the cable out of the body rear end. The tightened noose is locked by passing the cable through one of the slots, and wrapped around the body several times, before passing said cable through both slots, to complete the locking procedure.

A disposable vascular tourniquet for controlling the constriction of a blood vessel during surgery. The vessel occluder comprises a flexible tubular sheath having a clamping structure disposed at its proximal end. The clamping structure is a unitary molded plastic part which has a tubular base portion adapted to be inserted into the proximal end of the flexible sheath and projecting from this base portion are bifurcated fingers, one of which includes a transversely extending latch portion which is adapted to mate with a recess on the other finger. A retractor or snare having a hook at one end and a ring-type handle at the other end may be inserted between the fingers of the clamp when in its unlatched condition and through the tubular base of the clamp and the sheath so as to extend outwardly from the distal end of the sheath. A cord may be looped around a vessel to be constricted and the ends of the loop are captured in the hook of the retractor. When the retractor is drawn outward from the sheath, the ends of the loop pass between the fingers of the clamp such that when the fingers are pinched together and latched, axial movement of the cord with respect to the tubular sheath is prevented.