Method for Soft Tissue Attachment

• US 20100312341A1
• Filed: 08/17/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biomet Manufacturing, LLC (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Biomet Sports Medicine LLC (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stone, Kevin T., Kaiser, Ryan A., Howell, Stephen M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,308,780 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/13.14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0401 Suture anchors, buttons or pledgets, i.e. means for attaching sutures to bone, cartilage or soft tissue; Instruments for applying or removing suture anchors A61B17/0642 takes precedence; fixation devices for tendons or ligaments A61F2/0811
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0412 having anchoring barbs or pins extending outwardly from suture anchor body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0414 having a suture-receiving opening, e.g. lateral opening lateral eyelet for attaching suture to needle A61B2017/06019
• 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 2002/0882 Anchor in or on top of a bone tunnel, i.e. a hole running through the entire bone

Abstract

An apparatus and method for fixing a selected graft relative to a selected anatomical portion. An anchor may be provided that may be interconnected with a selected graft portion that is operable to pass through a selected bore and then moved into an operable position to engage a selected portion of the bore to substantially eliminate the possibility of the graft moving in an unselected direction through the bore.

Claims

1. A method of fixing a graft in a selected region of an anatomy with an anchor member, comprising:

connecting the graft to a graft connection region of the anchor member, wherein the anchor member includes a body extending from a first end to a second end and having a maximum exterior dimension transverse to a first axis between the first end and the second end, a lever arm is connected with the body near the first end of the body, and the graft connection region spaced a distance from the first end, wherein the graft connection region has at least one graft connection dimension that is also transverse to the first axis and less than the maximum exterior dimension;

forming a bore in the anatomy having an internal dimension where the at least one dimension of the graft connection region is less than the internal dimension of the bore to allow the graft to be moved through and positioned relative to the bore without substantially binding the graft in the bore;

holding the lever arm relative to the body with a holding mechanism in a non-activated position such that the lever arm is maintained to allow the anchor member to pass through the formed bore;

moving the anchor member through the formed bore in the anatomy with the lever arm held with the holding mechanism in the non-activated position; and

moving the lever arm around an axis of motion substantially at an end of the lever arm to the activated position such that a single end portion of the lever arm extends beyond the maximum exterior dimension to engage a selected portion of the anatomy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein holding the lever arm relative to the body with a holding mechanism further comprises passing a holding member through a passage in the body to couple the lever arm and the body.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein passing a holding member through a passage in the body to couple the lever arm and the body includes directly contacting the lever arm with the holding member.