Hub with suturing provision for medical devices

Claim 1

A hub suitable for use with an introducer catheter and adapted to remain in a fixed position on a patient comprising: a body with a passage therethrough adapted to receive a catheter for insertion into a patient and having a diameter greater than the outer wall of said catheter to facilitate the easy insertion of said catheter therethrough without substantial frictional resistance; a first thin walled flange extending from said body, coaxially aligned about said passageway and defining an extension thereof coterminous therewith; an annular dimple on the end of said first flange and projecting into said passage extension and engaging the outer periphery of said catheter and providing a resilient seal thereagainst but permitting said catheter to slide therethrough into said passageway; a second thin walled flange extending from said body and coaxially aligned with the axis of said passageway and having an interior wall spaced radially apart from said first thin walled flange, said second thin walled flange including a pierceable section adapted to be pierced for suturing said hub to said patient and thereby anchoring the same in place regardless of the angular orientation of said hub with respect to the patient, said radial space between said first and said second flanges permitting the passage of a suture needle.