Abstract: A surgical knot pusher device comprises a thick-walled cannula or tube having a beveled elliptical face and a central channel for slidably receiving one end of a suture. The other end of the suture is slidably inserted in one of a pair of longitudinal grooves formed on the outer surface of the cannula which intersect the elliptical face at the opposite ends of its major axis. One of the longitudinal grooves extends along the longest portion of the cannula and the other longitudinal groove extends along the shortest portion of the of the cannula. As the knot pusher device is inserted into a surgical port, a knot formed in the suture is engaged by the beveled face and advanced toward a surgical site. A notch is formed at the proximal end of the cannula for receiving the end of the suture threaded into the central channel. A threading element comprising an elongated rod with a deformable loop is provided to thread the suture into the central channel of the cannula.

Abstract: A surgical tissue retrieval instrument has a collapsible pouch at the distal end of an elongated support tube for retrieving internal body tissue through a trocar tube. The instrument includes a belt which is formed into a loop slidably attached about the open end of the pouch. The belt is slidably extendable through the support tube for expanding the open end of the pouch to receive the tissue and retractable into the support tube for drawing the open end of the pouch closed to enclose the tissue in the pouch. The belt has an oblong, e.g., rectangular, cross section oriented with its larger cross-sectional dimension perpendicular to the plane of the loop to provide stability at the open end of the pouch and to enable use of the pouch in a scoop-like manner to place the tissue therein. A portion of the belt is thermally set into a curved configuration to urge the loop into a normally expanded shape with the belt extended from the distal end of the support tube.