SUTURE NEEDLE HAVING A BENDING REGION

A suture needle (32) having a bendable region includes an elongate body having a proximal section (36), a distal section (38), and a bendable region between the proximal section and the distal section. The bendable region has a reduced cross-section and/or is made of a superelastic material that is more flexible than the proximal and distal sections of the elongate body to enable the suture needle to transition from a first configuration having a larger size to a second configuration having a smaller size. When in the first configuration, the suture needle is larger than the inner diameter of the elongated catheter of the trocar. To pass the suture needle through the elongated catheter of the trocar, the elongated body is bent at a bendable region such that the suture needle is smaller than the inner diameter of the elongated catheter of the trocar. After passing the suture needle through the trocar, the elongate body bends back to a first larger dimension to configure the suture needle for suturing tissue. 本