Patent 7473260 was granted and assigned to Nmt Medical, Inc. on January, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An apparatus for cutting a suture. In one embodiment the suture cutting apparatus includes a distal cutting end and a proximal control end. The apparatus also includes a first tube defining a lumen, and a second tube located and movable within the lumen of the first tube. The second tube defines a lumen and includes a lever arm pivotably attached at the distal cutting end of the apparatus. The lever arm has a cutting edge that is held away from the longitudinal axis of the second tube when the lever arm is located within the first tube, and is biased toward the longitudinal axis of second tube when the lever arm is outside of the first tube.