Endosteal ligament retainer and process
First Claim
1. An endosteal ligament retainer comprising, a mounting and means for securing a graft end thereto for installation into and permanently seating in an endosteum end of a ligament tunnel formed as tibial and femoral tunnel segments, said mounting consisting of a straight shaft with said means for securing a graft end thereto consisting of a disk that is arranged across a head end of said straight shaft with attachment means for attaching a graft end to extend from the surface of said disk, which attachment means consists of a wall extending at a right angle outwardly from around said disk edge, said wall having at least a plurality of openings therethrough for passing a suture means into said graft end with said straight shaft leading or front end to include thread means extending outwardly fitting into a bone endosteum at a ligament tunnel segment end;
- and driver means to engage the straight shaft head end for urging said straight shaft and disk with graft end attached thereto along the ligament tunnel.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An endosteal ligament retainer for use in an arthroscopic surgical procedure to replace an anterior or posterior cruciate ligament, the retainer for endosteally mounting a ligament end, with or without a stent, tendon, or the like into the endosteum end of a femoral or tibial tunnel section. The embodiments of the retainer, include a disk shaped base, that can be axially pivotally mounted to a screw head end and may be holed or include upstanding arcuate walls projecting from the disk edge that are for securing a ligament end thereto, as by sewing with a suture. Alternatively, a center holed disk and screw fitted axially therethrough make up the retainer, which disk includes spaced apart radial holes for receiving a suture or sutures sewn therethrough and to a ligament end, mounting the disk across that ligament end. Additionally, the retainer can be a disk fixed across a rear end of a nail or peg to attached a ligament graft end thereto, the nail or peg leading or forward end to include spaced individual flexing rings that will collapse opposite to the direction or travel into a close fitting tunnel end to then flex outwardly, locking in the endosteum when a tensile force is applied thereto.
A driver is provided for fitting longitudinally through or alongside a ligament graft, which driver connects to either turn the screw or urge the nail or peg into the tunnel endosteum end. The driver, ligament and endosteal ligament retainer are for fitting by a surgeon into and along the aligned femoral and tibial tunnels into a prepared bone endosteum tunnel end for endosteally mounting the ligament graft end thereto.
381 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An endosteal ligament retainer comprising, a mounting and means for securing a graft end thereto for installation into and permanently seating in an endosteum end of a ligament tunnel formed as tibial and femoral tunnel segments, said mounting consisting of a straight shaft with said means for securing a graft end thereto consisting of a disk that is arranged across a head end of said straight shaft with attachment means for attaching a graft end to extend from the surface of said disk, which attachment means consists of a wall extending at a right angle outwardly from around said disk edge, said wall having at least a plurality of openings therethrough for passing a suture means into said graft end with said straight shaft leading or front end to include thread means extending outwardly fitting into a bone endosteum at a ligament tunnel segment end;
- and driver means to engage the straight shaft head end for urging said straight shaft and disk with graft end attached thereto along the ligament tunnel.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A process for endosteally suturing a ligament graft in a bone tunnel end performed during an arthroscopic surgical procedure for repairing or replacing an anterior or posterior cruciate ligament comprising, forming distal femur and proximal tibia tunnel sections that intersect the respective cruciate ligament points of origin at the knee joint, which tunnel sections, when the lower leg is bent relative to the upper leg forming a straight tunnel;
- terminating in either a femur or tibia tunnel section end in the bone endosteum, which tunnel end is to receive an endosteal ligament retainer secured therein;
axially installing an endosteal ligament retainer to a ligament graft end and seating said endosteal retainer into the bone endosteum at the tunnel end;
with the tunnel sections aligned, stretching the ligament graft to where the unattached ligament graft end is under tension and extends beyond the tunnel section opening; and
securing said unattached ligament graft end to the cortex of the bone adjacent to that tunnel end. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- terminating in either a femur or tibia tunnel section end in the bone endosteum, which tunnel end is to receive an endosteal ligament retainer secured therein;
Specification