Innovative Needle Driver Allows Vertical Suturing

A novel needle driver allows the surgeon to apply sutures vertically, in areas that would be difficult to reach with traditional drivers.

The Alshemari Needle Driver holds the needle parallel to the handles, and is thus rotated 90 degrees from traditional needle drivers. A lever clamp method is used to ensure that the needle is firmly held in a position while the operator's hand is in a neutral position. The needle thus automatically moves into an ideal position between two targets in a straight vertical line, rather than in an elliptical path as in conventional needle drivers.

The Alshemari Needle Driver was first conceived as an instrument for general ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures, reaching challenging sutures at the base of the tongue or the tonsillar pillar. But the design can also be used throughout the body, thus enabling less invasive procedures and reducing time wasted completing inaccessible sutures. The Alshemari Needle Driver is a product of Alshemari Instruments (Charlotte, NC, USA), and features 316 stainless steel construction, tungsten carbide jaw inserts, and gold plated handles.

“I first came up with the concept for my needle driver device in the OR while applying sutures in the mouth of a patient,” said Hasan Alshemari, MD, inventor of The Alshemari Needle Driver and a pediatric otolaryngology specialist at Zain Hospital (Kuwait). “As physicians, we have to be nimble in tight spaces. I wanted to invent a device that would minimize hand twisting in order to ensure greater accuracy, precision and superior reach.”

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