Anchoring element for anchoring a ligament transplant

• US 20050004670A1
• Filed: 02/10/2003
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg
• Original Assignee: Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg
• Inventors: Timmermans, Andre, Gebhardt, Ullrich
• Granted Patent: US 7,001,390 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/13.140
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/06166 Sutures suture materials A61L17/00; manufacture of artificial threads D01D; treatment of threads D06M
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/0811 Fixation devices for tendons or ligaments
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0829 without deformation of anchor parts, e.g. fixation screws on bone surface, extending barbs, cams, butterflies, spring-loaded pins
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0852 Fixation of a loop or U-turn, e.g. eyelets, anchor having multiple holes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0858 Fixation of tendon or ligament between anchor and bone, e.g. interference screws, wedges
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0864 Fixation of tendon or ligament between anchor elements, e.g. by additional screws in the anchor, anchor crimped around tendon
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/0882 Anchor in or on top of a bone tunnel, i.e. a hole running through the entire bone
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/2835 Bone graft implants for filling a bony defect or an endoprosthesis cavity, e.g. by synthetic material or biological material
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30062 (bio)absorbable, biodegradable, bioerodable, (bio)resorbable, resorptive
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30113 circular
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30131 horseshoe- or crescent- or C-shaped or U-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/3021 frustoconical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30224 cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30461 sutured, ligatured or stitched
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30588 filled with solid particles
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0004 bioabsorbable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0075 sutured, ligatured or stitched, retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0006 circular
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0013 Horseshoe-shaped, e.g. crescent-shaped, C-shaped, U-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0067 conical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0069 : cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 606/908 : Bioabsorbable material

Abstract

An anchoring element serves for anchoring a ligament transplant in a channel in a bone. The anchoring element has a body which can be brought into an intermediate space between an inner wall of a channel within a bone and a ligament transplant introduced into said channel. Said body serves for clamping said ligament transplant in said channel. Said body has an outer flexible sheath filled with particles which are of low compressibility, said particles within said outer flexible sheath allowing the outer flexible sheath to accommodate to a shape of said intermediate space between said ligament and said channel (FIG. 4).

Claims

1. Anchoring element for anchoring a ligament transplant in a channel in a bone, comprising

a body which can be brought into an intermediate space between an inner wall of a channel within a bone and a ligament transplant introduced into said channel, said body serves for clamping said ligament transplant within said channel, wherein

said body has an outer flexible sheath filled with particles having a low compressibility, said particles within said outer flexible sheath allowing said body to accommodate to a shape of said intermediate space between said ligament and said channel.

2. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said outer flexible sheath has a perforated structure.

3. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said outer flexible sheath is made of a material which is biodegradable.

4. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said individual particles within said outer flexible sheath are biodegradable.

5. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said individual particles are divided bone particles.

6. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said body is joined to a pulling thread.

7. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said body originally has an approximately cylindrical shape.

8. The anchoring element of claim 1, wherein said body originally has an approximately frustoconical shape.

9. A method for anchoring a ligament transplant in a channel in a bone, with an anchoring element comprising the steps of

providing a channel within a bone,

inserting into said channel a ligament transplant having a diameter smaller than a diameter of said channel,

introducing an anchoring element into an intermediate space between said ligament and said channel for clamping said ligament transplant,

said method comprising the steps of

providing an anchoring element having an outer flexible sheath filled with individual particles which are of low compressibility,

accommodating a shape of said deformable anchoring element to a shape of said intermediate space between said ligament and said channel when inserted into said intermediate shape.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising the following additional steps

providing said outer flexible sheath in an open form,

filling said open form flexible sheath with particles of bone material, and

closing said outer flexible sheath.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said filling of said flexible sheath is performed with particles of bone material taken from the human being at which said ligament transplant has to be anchored via said anchoring element.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said bone material taken from said human being is a bone material resulting from a drilling process for preparing said channel within said bone, in which said transplant is anchored.