A surgical instrument includes a body, a user input feature, an elongate shaft extending from the body along a longitudinal axis, and a needle applier coupled to the elongate shaft. The needle applier further includes a needle and a drive assembly coupled to the needle. The drive assembly is configured to rotate the needle about a rotation axis that is transverse to the longitudinal axis, in response to an actuation of the user input feature. The needle applier further includes a housing containing the needle and the drive assembly. The housing presents at least one indicator. The least one indicator is positioned to indicate at least one of a position of the needle relative to the housing, and a direction of rotation of the needle relative to the housing.