Encircling Suture Delivery System

The invention provides a novel delivery system for delivering an encircling suture which includes two separate hollow limbs held together at an articulation by the suture to be delivered. The suture can extend through the hollow limbs, which slide along the suture. The distal ends of the limbs can be compressed into a desired delivery shape that allows the limbs to be advanced through the lumen of a delivery catheter (e.g., a transcutaneous, transvascular or intraluminal catheter) into any body cavity. As the distal portions of the limbs move out of the delivery catheter, the limbs cooperatively assume a loop shape complementary to the shape of the target around the encircling suture to leave only the suture in the desired delivery position while maintaining desired suture tension and position. The delivery device can be placed around a variety of anatomical structures (e.g., heart, arterial appendage, cecal appendix, gall bladder, neoplasm, uterus, hemorrhoid, uvula, aneurysm, transected blood vessel, folded or looped lumen, intraocular crystalline lens or implated intraocular lens or haptic, urinary bladder, kidney, prostate, intestine, or liver, etc.).