[54] FLEXIBLE SUTURE GUIDE AND HOLDER
[75] Inventors: Delos M. Cosgrove, Hunting Valley, Ohio; Than Nguyen, Huntington Beach, Calif.
[73] Assignee: Baxter International Inc., Deerfield,
m.
[ * ] Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Nov. 30, 2009, has been disclaimed.
[21] Appl. No.: 474,048
[22] Filed: Jim. 7,1995
Related U.S. Application Data
[60] Continuation of Ser. No. 190,755, Feb. 2, 1994, Pat No. 5,496,336, which is a division of Ser. No. 4,214, Jan. 13, 1993, Pat. No. 5,290,300, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 739,925, Aug. 2,1991, abandoned, which is a continuationin-part of Set No. 444,189, Nov. 30, 1989, Pat No. 5,041, 130, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 387,909, Jul. 31, 1989, abandoned.
[51] Int. CL6 A61B 17/00
[52] U.S. CI 606/150
[58] Field of Search 623/2, 900; 606/139,
606/148-150, 232, 233
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,828,787 8/1974 Anderson et al 623/2 X
4,042,979 8/1977 AngeU 623/2
4364,126 12/1982 Rosen etal 623/2
4,702,250 10/1987 Ovil et al 606/148
4,759,758 7/1988 Gabbay 623/2
4,865,600 9/1989 Carpenuer et al 623/2
5,011,481 4/1991 Myers etal 606/1
5,041,130 8/1991 Cosgrove etal 623/2
5^90,300 3/1994 Cosgrove etal 606/148
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
0848024 7/1981 U.S.S.R 623/2
Primary Examiner-—David H. Willse
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Raymond Sun; Debra D.
Condino; Bruce Canter
[57] ABSTRACT
An assembly for holding a substantially flexible suture guide of predetermined length in a substantially taut position used to achieve a suture line having a dimension equal to the length of the suture guide, such as the circumference about a heart valve annulus. The assembly includes a rigid suture guide holder having a surface against which the length of suture guide is releasably positioned. The guide holder can have a shape or geometry, such as a circumference or circumferential segment, equivalent to the shape or geometry of the intended suture line. The shape of the guide holder can therefore be selected to hold the suture guide in the shape most advantageous to placing the desired suture line. The assembly further includes a mechanism for releasably binding the suture guide to the surface of the holder and a detachable handle extendibly attached to the holder by means of a lanyard so that the handle can be detached to afford an unobstructed view of the surgical site, but cannot be removed from the surgical site until the holder has also been removed
32 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
