US1558037A - Surgical needle and suture assembly and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 20, 1925.

H. D. MORTON SURGICAL NEEDLE AND SUTURE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 17, 1925 llllnzi lid ltd

Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

HARRY D. MORTOIL' OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SURGICAL NEEDLE AND SUTUR-E ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE $AME.

Application filed June 17, 1925. Serial No. 87,599.

.and-suture assembly and methods of making the same embodying my invention inthe form and manner at present preferred by me; but it will be understood that various modifications and changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of my invention and without exceeding the scope of my claims.

My inventionwill best be understood reference to the accompanying drawings; 1n

' which I have illustrated the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, and in which Fig. 1 shows, partly in elevation and partly in section, a needle having in its shank a substantially longitudinal recess,

cylindrical in form; Fig. 2 shows in section an enlarged view of the shank end of said needle, but with the recess altered to the form of a truncated cone tapering'toward the neck of said recess; Fig. 3 shows the same view as Fig. 2 of the shank end of said needle, but with a liquid in said recess adapted to soften or to adhere to the end portion of a suture inserted therein; and Fig. a shows the same View as Fig. 2 of the shank end of said needle, but with the inserted end of the suture conforming to and anchored within the recess. I

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a needle which may be of any desired body form; 2 is a recess formed in the shank thereof, in

any-suitable manner, such as by drilling or swaging and ,drawing said recess being preferably cylindrical in form and of suchdiameter relative to the, outside diameter of the shank. as. to leave only a thin surrounding wall. 3 is the shank of the needle after it has been so formed, as by spinning or swaging, that the wall surrounding the recess is tapered toward the end of the shank;

4 is a suture such as is commonly employed in surgery. In order to strengthen the needle at the juncture of the solid shank and the shell portion formed by the wall of the recess, I preferably leave a fillet betweenthe bottom of the recess and the wall thereof.

The invention comprises siinple, efiective and inexpensive means whereby a suture may be firmly attached to a needle in sucha manner that it can, with greater convenience and more satisfactory results than are possible by present methods, be drawn through perforations formed in tissue by said needle.

It has been customary in surgery to thread a suture through an eye formed in the shank of a needle and transverselyof the axis thereof. Where there. has been employed suture material such as catgut,

which, in its dry state, is hard and unyielding, it has been usual for surgeons, after:

threading the needle, to immerse the shank thereof in some fluid such as warm water, in order to soften the portions of the suture adjacent the needle, so that they might not, in passing through the opening in live tissue formed by the needle, too greatly enlarge such opening and thereby cause unnecessary laceration. in emergency cases, the surgeon can ill afford to take the time required for thus softening the end of the suture. If

the suture is not softened before being used,

and if it is of a size approaching that of the shank of the needle, the perforation formed by the needle is necessarily enlarged by the drawing therethrough of the double thickness of. suture materialthe size of the perforation being thereby increased to about three times that of the diameter ofthe suture. When sewing a wound in delicate tissue, it frequently occurs that, in its passage through the perforation, formed by the loop of hard suture material causes such extensive laceration.- that the stitches tear out.

It has heretofore been proposed to attach the shoulder a suture to the shank of a needle by anneale ing and flattening an end portionfof the shank, bending such flattened portion into a U-shape, laying an end of the suture in the groove so formed, and bending the sides of the flattened shank portion down over the end of the suture to clinch the same. This "construction is open to the objection that it does not leave the surface of the needle smooth, because there are, of course, two seams therein-one being longitudinal, and the other partly circumferential, of the shank. Further,the thin, flattened portion of the shank being soft, there is always the likelihpod that this unhardened end of the needle may become bent, or that one "or" other of the thin sides may he accidentally turned outward, resulting in unnecessary laceration of the tissue. In annealing the shank of. the needle preparatory to flatten ing the end thereof, a portion of the shank above the point where the flattening isto terminate is necessarily also annealed. It

is customary to apply forceps to the needle to draw it through the tissue, and these forceps are quite likely to roughen or dis tort this urihardened portion of the shank.

'With my invention it is unnecessary to anneal anypart-of the needle; and the needle is, moreover, left with an entirely smooth outer surface and of a diameter only slightly greater than that of the suture.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably form in the shank of the needle a substantially longitudinal recess having an inner diameter greater than the neck diam? eter thereof, and anchor therein an end portion of the suturel For example, as shown in the drawings (Fig.1), I first form, as by drilling or swaging and drawing, such a recess of substantially cylindrical shape and of a,diameter a trifle larger than the diameter of the suture. I then constrict the neck diameter of the recess (as by' sp'in-' ning or swaging) so that it is only slightly greater than the diameter of the suture;

The .needle is then hardened and tempered in the usual manner. I may then place in the recess a smallquantity of some inert material such as cement which will, upon setting, adhere to the suture material, the outer surface of the mass of cement conforming to-the shape of the recessth us effectually anchoring the suture therein. The wall of the recess requires to be only a few tliousandths of an inch in thickness,

and with this construction but slight taper in the recessis necessary in order to effect a secure anchoring ,of the suture therein.

Thus the needle need not be unduly large,

but, of only slightly greater diameter than the suture, which therefore passes through the perforation without enlarging the same, ence reducing the possibility of the stitches tearing out.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatlongitudinal recesses of other forms may be employed, which, by't'he methods I describe, will permit of effectually anchoring' the suture, therein. For example, the wall of the recess may be cylindrical and may be tapped with a screw thread to give both large and small internal diameters for anchoring purposes; or the inside of the recess wall,may be otherwise scarified in such a manner as to provide adequate anchorage.

Withsome readily softening suture materials, it is not necessary to employ for anchorage purposes a substance which, upon setting, adheres to the suture and conforms to the shape of the recess. For example, catgut readily absorbs and is softened by water; and other suture materials may be softened by-other suitable means. When employing catgut, water or other suitable fluid may be placed in the recess and an end of the suture immersed therein, which. end, when suiiiciently softened, may be expanded-by pressure applied between the needle and the hard portion of the.suture outside the recess. This causes the softened inner portion of the suture to upset.and to conform to the shape of the recess. Upon drying, the end of. the suture is thereby anchored 'in the recess. Moreover, some suture materials, such as catgut, are characterized by the fact that, upon being softened by wetting, they expand in di ameter, and, upon. hardening, they have a diameter larger than before being wetted.

With such materials, no pressure may be toughness. I preferably employ a soften-- ing material which does not rust steel. For example, when water is used, I render it non-rusting by dissolving therein soap or some other suitable substance.- I may increase and expedite the softening action of the, water by raising its temperaturethrough heat applied to the shank of the needle.

It is to be understood that needle-andsuture assemblies made in accordance with myinvention are to be sterilized and her metically sealed, in a well known manner, and that they are to be employed in a single surgical operation only.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of-the United States is:

l. The method of attaching a suture to a needle. which consists in forming in said needle a blind recess having a constricted opening, inserting an end of a suture in said recess and thereafter attaching said end to said needle by an anchorage of greater diameter th'anthe constricted opening of said needle. 7

2. The methodof attaching a suture to a needle which consists informing a blind recess in the. shank of the needle, constricting cess 1n the shank of the needle. inserting an menace? end of the suture in said recess and expansively anchoring the same therein.

d. The method of attaching a suture to a needle which consists in forming in said needle a blind recess constricted in diameter near the opening thereof, inserting an end of the suture in said recess. and upsetting a portion of said end to anchor it in said recess.

5 The method of attaching a suture to a needle which consists in forming in the shank of said needle a blind recess having an internal diameter some part of which is greater than itsneck diameter, inserting a portion of the suture in said recess and increasing the diameter of such inserted portion to anchor it in said recess.

6. The method of attaching a suture to a needle which. consists in forming a recess in said needle, inserting an end of the suture in such recess, softening such insert/ed end, ere pending. such end whilesoftened, and permitting such end to harden in an expanded condition.

' 7. The method of attaching a suture to a needle which consists in forming a recess in said needle, inserting an end of the suture in such recess, softening such inserted end, expanding such end by pressure applied between such needle and suture and allowing such end to harden in an expanded conch tion.

8. The method oi attaching asuture to a needle which consists in inserting an end of said stature in a recess formed in said needle, which recess has a constricted diameter near its opening, softening such inserted end, expanding such end While soft and allowing such end to harden in an expanded condition.

9. The method of attaching a suture to a needle which consists informing a recess in'said needle, placing in said recess a fluid having theccharacteristics of softening the suture material and of not attacking the needlemateriahimniersing anend of said suture in said fluid, and allowing said end to sottem'expand and harden in said recess, whereby it becomes anchoredtherein.

10. The method ofattaching a suture to a needle which consists in immersing an end of said suture in a softening fluid contained in a recess formed in said needle, applying heat to said fluid, allowing said end to absorb at least a portion of said fluid whereby it softens and'expands, and allowing said end to harden in an expanded condition and thereby become anchored in said recess.

11. The method of attaching a suture to a needle which consists in immersingan end so suture and needle whereby said end expands, s5

and "allowing said end to harden in an expanded condition and become anchored in said recess.

l2. Themethod which consists in forming in a needle a substantially longitudinal blind 7o recess having a constricted opening, hardening and tempering said needle and anchoring a suture in said recess.

13. The combination of a needle element having a blind recess formed in the shank thereof and a suture element expansively anchored in said recess.

'14. In combination, a needle having formed in its shank a blind recess with an internal diameter greater than its neck diamso eter and a suture maintained in said recess by an anchorage conforming thereto.

15. In combination, a needle having formed in the shank thereof a blind recess with an internal diameter greater than its at neck diameter and a suture expansively anchored in said recess.

16. In combination, a needle having formed in its shank an inwardly-flaring blind recess and a suture having its end inscserted in said recess and expanded to conform thereto.

17. In combination, a needle having formed therein a blind recess having a constricted opening and surrounded by a hardened and tempered wall and a suture maintained in said recess by an anchorage ofgreater diameter than said constructed openmg. Y

18.Tn combination, a needle having formed therein a blind recess having a con stricted opening and surrounded by an unbroken hardenedand tempered circumferential wall and a suture anchored in sald'recess. I 19. The,method of making a needle and suture assembly which consists in forming in one end of a blank a longitudinalblind recess having a constricted opening, finishing said blank by pointing, hardening, temper- 1 ing and polishing the same, inserting an end of a suture in said recess and maintaining the same therein by an anchorage conformingthereto.

HARRY: D; MORTON.

Images