US Patent 8460318 Suturing instrument and method for passing multiple sutures

Apparatus and methods for passing multiple sutures in tissue repair and/or other mini-open procedures. The apparatus includes a pair of jaws mounted on a distal end of a shaft, a hand assembly mounted on a proximal end of the shaft, and a needle mounted on the hand assembly and passing through a cannulation of the shaft. The pair of jaws includes a lower jaw and an upper jaw, the lower jaw being provided with a slot configured to sequentially engage multiple sutures inserted into the instrument. The handle assembly has a cam mechanism and a finger lever with a ratchet and a releaser with a hook, the handle assembly being designed to move the needle from a first position to a second position, and to thereby sequentially capture, in the needle, each of the multiple sutures inserted in the instrument, for subsequent passing through tissue.