Surgical instrument with magnetic needle holder

A suturing instrument for use in endoscopic surgery includes at one end of an elongated barrel a pair of jaws to grasp and release a needle. Within one of the jaws a recessed magnet properly positions, orients and holds the needle relative to the long axis of the barrel. In a preferred embodiment of an instrument with the magnet embedded in a lower jaw, the instrument includes a wire, which moves in parallel with an upper jaw as that jaw opens and closes, to push the needle out of the contact with the magnet in the lower jaw. The wire fits within a recess, and lies beneath the needle when the needle is in position and the jaws are closed. An alternative embodiment of the instrument includes in one of the jaws a magnet which is magnetized across the diameter. This magnet is oriented, relative to a long axis of the elongated barrel, such that the poles are perpendicular to the axis. A needle which has a magnet embedded in the suture end, or has the suture end which is coated with a material which is more magnetically permeable than the needle may be used with the instrument, to direct the needle to a particular position on the magnet.