Expandable bone anchor and method of anchoring a suture to a bone
First Claim
1. A bone anchor for securing a suture in a borehole in a bone, comprising:
- an expandable body having a distal tip for insertion distally in a borehole, and an open proximal end, the body defining an expansion chamber that communicates proximally with the open end and defines a seat;
an expansion slot extending through the body that allows a proximal portion of the body to expand in response to outwardly directed force applied to the body from within the expansion chamber; and
the expansion chamber having a non-circular cross section with at least one arcuate surface.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A bone anchor, for securing a suture to a bone, has an open proximal end and a body that tapers to a solid distal tip. The anchor is placed deep in a borehole in a bone using an insertion instrument that is inserted through the open proximal end of the anchor. The tip of the instrument is a spherical knob that snaps into a corresponding recess inside the anchor. The instrument has an oval cross-section that does not bear against the walls of the anchor during insertion. Once the anchor is in place, however, the anchor is expanded by rotating the instrument to bring the exterior of the instrument into contact with the walls of the anchor. The anchor is free to pivot about the spherical knob on the instrument, which allows the anchor to orient itself to the shape and size of the borehole.
806 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A bone anchor for securing a suture in a borehole in a bone, comprising:
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an expandable body having a distal tip for insertion distally in a borehole, and an open proximal end, the body defining an expansion chamber that communicates proximally with the open end and defines a seat; an expansion slot extending through the body that allows a proximal portion of the body to expand in response to outwardly directed force applied to the body from within the expansion chamber; and the expansion chamber having a non-circular cross section with at least one arcuate surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A kit for securing a suture in a borehole in a bone, comprising:
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a bone anchor including an expandable body having a distal tip for insertion distally in a borehole, and an open proximal end, the body defining an expansion chamber that communicates proximally with the open end and defines a seat, the body further defining a means for carrying a suture therein; an expansion slot extending through the body that allows a proximal portion of the body to expand in response to outwardly directed force applied to the body from within the expansion chamber; and an expansion instrument that is insertable through the proximal end into the expansion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A kit for securing a suture in a bone borehole, the anchor comprising:
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a bone anchor including an expandable anchor body having a solid distal tip and an open proximal end, the body tapering in the direction of the distal tip and defining an expansion chamber that communicates proximally with the open end and distally with a guide seat, the expansion chamber having an oblong ovoid cross-section with walls that form a pair of opposing arcuate guide surfaces; a pair of opposing expansion slots extending through the walls and the proximal end, and separating the opposing arcuate guide surfaces along a portion of the body such that a proximal portion of the body is expandable; a retention member on the exterior of the body that inhibits extraction of the anchor from the borehole after the anchor has been expanded; an elongated expansion instrument that is insertable into the expansion chamber, the instrument having an oblong ovoid shape with a greater and lesser diameter that are respectively less than a greater and lesser diameter of the chamber; and a rotary guide member on the instrument that cooperates with the guide seat of the chamber to seat the instrument in the chamber and provide an axis of rotation of the instrument relative to the body. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A method of anchoring a suture to a bone, comprising:
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drilling a borehole in a bone; inserting a bone anchor, carrying a portion of a suture, into the borehole with the distal tip positioned distally in the hole; and placing an expansion instrument into the expansion chamber through the proximal end of the anchor and expanding the proximal end of the bone anchor by rotating the instrument. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification