US Patent 9393010 Suturing instrument for passing multiple sutures

An instrument for passing sutures in tissue repair and/or other mini-open procedures. The instrument 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 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 engage a plurality of sutures. The hand assembly has a finger lever with a ratchet and a releaser with a hook, the hand assembly being designed to move the needle from a first position to a second position, and to sequentially engage the needle with each of the plurality of sutures.