Fixture for maintaining the tension applied to a suture during intracorporeal procedures

A medical system for suturing tissue in an intracorporeal procedure in a patient, the medical system comprising:

• a suturing device having a handle and an outer sheath that slidably receives the distal end of the sutures for delivery to the tissue within a patient;
• a tension sustaining fixture having a main body located between the handle and the outer sheath of the suturing device, a side retaining sleeve intersecting with the main body at an angle (α);
• and a closure mechanism coupled to the side retaining sleeve;
• and
• at least one suture whose proximal end follows a path from the outer sheath through the tension sustaining fixture to be external to the patient;
• wherein the closure mechanism is operable between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration;
• wherein the amount of tension applied to the sutures is maintained by fixing the position of the suture when the closure mechanism is in a locked configuration.

A method for closing perforations in the walls of organs and vessels in a patient during an endoscopic or laparoscopic procedure, the method comprising the steps of:

• placing the distal end of a suturing device through an orifice in the patient to a location that is proximate to a bodily vessel;
• performing the endoscopic or laparoscopic procedure on the vessel;
• securing the distal end of at least one suture proximate to the perforation made in the wall of the vessel;
• providing appropriate tension to the sutures;
• sustaining the applied tension using a tension sustaining fixture;
• and
• securing the sutures to close the perforation;
• wherein the tension sustaining fixture has a main body coupled to the suturing device, a side retaining sleeve that intersects with the main body, and a closure mechanism coupled to the side retaining sleeve;
• wherein the proximal end of at least one suture is fed from the perforation in the bodily vessel through the side retaining sleeve and closure mechanism of the tension sustaining fixture to be external to the patient.