A hand-held manual surgical instrument intended for the in situ tightening of a suture/ligature loop or a suture between a set of suture anchors (not included) during open and/or minimally-invasive surgery (e.g., vascular or gastrointestinal surgery). The suture is intended to be loaded into the device, which typically includes a sliding mechanism or a rigid tube with an internal wire loop for controlled manual tightening; some types may include a non-penetrating fastening device to secure suture ends. This is a single-use device.