Suture passers and methods of passing suture

1. A suture passer for forming a loop of suture around a target tissue, the suture passer comprising:

an elongate body extending distally and proximally along a long axis;

a first jaw extending from a distal end region of the elongate body wherein the first jaw is bent or bendable at an angle relative to the long axis;

a second jaw configured to slide axially along the long axis distally and proximally relative to the elongate body, further wherein the first jaw and the second jaw form a distal-facing opening when the second jaw is extended distally and wherein the second jaw is retractable proximally so that it does not form the distal-facing opening with the first jaw;

a tissue penetrator configured to extend across the distal-facing opening between the first jaw and the second jaw to pass a suture there between; and

a plate having a keyhole capture region, wherein the keyhole capture region comprises a capture pathway including a channel extending through the plate and a release pathway, wherein the capture pathway is connected to the release pathway by at least one bend, further wherein the plate is coupled to the first jaw so that it may receive a suture from the tissue penetrator extending from the second jaw.

2. The suture passer of claim 1 , wherein the capture pathway comprise an opening mouth at an edge of the plate that tapers to a narrower channel before the release pathway.

3. The suture passer of claim 1 , wherein the release pathway comprises an enlarged opening having a larger diameter than the region of the capture pathway adjacent to the release pathway.

4. The suture passer of claim 1 , wherein the bend is configured to retain the suture immediately after it is passed into the keyhole capture region by the tissue penetrator.

5. The suture passer of claim 1 , wherein the plate is configured as a suture stripper.

6. The suture passer of claim 1 , further comprising a suture having an enlarged distal end region configured to be retained by the keyhole capture region, further wherein the diameter of the enlarged distal end region is greater than the diameter of the capture pathway but less than the diameter of a portion of the release pathway.

7. The suture passer of claim 6 , wherein the enlarged distal end region comprises a knot.

8. A method of passing a loop of suture around a target tissue, the method comprising:

placing a first jaw of a suture passer adjacent to a first side of a target tissue, wherein the first jaw extends from a distal end of an elongate body of the suture passer;

extending a second jaw of a suture passer adjacent to a second side of the target tissue to form a distal-facing mouth with the first jaw, wherein the second jaw extends in a distal direction from the distal end of the elongate body of the suture passer;

extending a tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth while pushing a capture member connected to a suture with the tissue penetrator;

retracting the tissue penetrator without the capture member or suture back between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth;

repositioning the first and second jaws relative to the target tissue;

extending the tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth and capturing the capture member with the tissue penetrator; and

retracting the tissue penetrator with the capture member back between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein placing the first jaw comprises placing the first jaw adjacent to the target tissue with the second jaw retracted proximally so that the distal end of the second jaw is adjacent or proximal to the distal end of the elongate body of the suture passer.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein placing the first jaw comprises bending the first jaw relative to the elongate body.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein extending the tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth while pushing the capture member comprises extending the tissue penetrator from the second jaw to the first jaw.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein extending the tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth while pushing the capture member comprises pushing the capture member comprising a flexible loop wherein the suture is connected to the flexible loop.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein extending the tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth while pushing the capture member comprises pushing the capture member comprising a plurality of flexible loops.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein extending the tissue penetrator between the first and second jaws of the distal facing mouth while pushing the capture member connected to the suture with the tissue penetrator comprises extending the capture member from a distal end of the first jaw member.

15. A suture passer device for passing a suture, the device comprising:

an elongate body extending distally and proximally along a long axis;

a first jaw extending from a distal end region of the elongate body wherein the first jaw is bendable at an angle relative to the long axis;

a second jaw having a sharp, tissue penetrating distal tip, wherein the second jaw is configured to be manually slid axially along the long axis distally and proximally relative to the elongate body, further wherein the first jaw and the second jaw form a distal-facing opening when the second jaw is extended distally and wherein the second jaw is retractable proximally so that it does not form the distal-facing opening with the first jaw;

a tissue penetrator configured to extend across the distal-facing opening between the first jaw and the second jaw to pass a suture there between; and

a cam surface coupled to the second jaw and configured to move the second jaw axially in conjugate motion with bending of the first jaw member.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the cam surface is coupled with a trigger control configured to change the bend angle of the first jaw relative to the long axis.

17. The device of claim 15 , further comprising a control to engage or disengage the cam surface and engage or disengage the conjugate motion.

18. A suture passer device for passing a suture and providing feedback to the user, the device comprising:

an elongate body extending distally and proximally along a long axis;

a first jaw extending from a distal end region of the elongate body wherein the first jaw is bent or bendable at an angle relative to the long axis;

a second jaw having a sharp, tissue penetrating distal tip, wherein the second jaw is configured to slide axially along the long axis distally and proximally relative to the elongate body, further wherein the first jaw and the second jaw form a distal-facing opening when the second jaw is extended distally and wherein the second jaw is retractable proximally so that it does not form the distal-facing opening with the first jaw;

a tissue penetrator configured to extend across the distal-facing opening between the first jaw and the second jaw to pass a suture there between; and

an audible feedback actuator configured to provide an audible signal when the tissue penetrator is fully extended across the distal-facing opening.