Apparatus for anchoring a suture
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising an anchor which is at least to be partially received in body tissue, a suture which extends through a passage in said anchor, and an inserter which is operable to insert said anchor into body tissue with said suture extending through the passage in said anchor, said inserter including a tubular outer member having a passage in which said anchor is received, and an inner member which is received in the passage in said tubular outer member and has an end portion which engages a trailing end portion of the anchor during insertion of the anchor into body tissue, said tubular outer member including surface means for holding said anchor against rotation about a longitudinal central axis of the passage in said tubular outer member during movement of the anchor in said inserter.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tubular anchor may have a polygonal cross-sectional configuration with flat outer side surfaces areas connected by a plurality of outer corner portions. A passage through the anchor may be formed by flat inner side surfaces interconnected by inner corner portions. A suture is inserted through the passage. A concentrated force may be applied against a limited area on a trailing end of the anchor to rotate the anchor to move an outer corner portion of the anchor into engagement with body tissue. The suture may engage an inner corner portion of the anchor. The suture may be inserted through a plurality of anchors and the anchors moved through a tubular member into the body tissue under the influence of force transmitted from a trailing anchor to a leading anchor. When the leading anchor is moved into the body tissue, it is rotated under the influence of force applied against a trailing end of the leading anchor. If desired, two anchors may be interconnected. A groove may advantageously be provided along the leading end and side of an anchor to receive the suture.
460 Citations
13 Claims
- 1. An apparatus comprising an anchor which is at least to be partially received in body tissue, a suture which extends through a passage in said anchor, and an inserter which is operable to insert said anchor into body tissue with said suture extending through the passage in said anchor, said inserter including a tubular outer member having a passage in which said anchor is received, and an inner member which is received in the passage in said tubular outer member and has an end portion which engages a trailing end portion of the anchor during insertion of the anchor into body tissue, said tubular outer member including surface means for holding said anchor against rotation about a longitudinal central axis of the passage in said tubular outer member during movement of the anchor in said inserter.
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12. An apparatus for use in inserting an anchor into body tissue, said apparatus comprising a tubular outer member having a passage in which the anchor is received, said tubular outer member having an end portion which engages body tissue during insertion of the anchor into the body tissue, said tubular outer member having surface means for defining a groove which extends along the passage to the end portion of said tubular outer member and is slidably engagable by a portion of the anchor to retain the anchor against rotation relative to said tubular outer member during insertion of the anchor into body tissue, and an inner member which is received in the passage in the tubular outer member and has an end portion which engages the anchor, said inner member and said tubular outer member being movable relative to each other during insertion of the anchor into body tissue to effect sliding movement between said groove in said tubular outer member and the anchor.
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13. An apparatus for use in inserting an anchor into body tissue, said apparatus comprising a tubular outer member having a passage in which the anchor is received, said tubular outer member having surface means for defining a rib which projects into and extends along the passage to the end portion of said tubular outer member and is slidably engagable by a portion of the anchor to retain the anchor against rotation relative to said tubular outer member during insertion of the anchor into body tissue, and an inner member which is received in the passage in the tubular outer member and has an end portion which engages the anchor, said inner member and said tubular outer member being movable relative to each other during insertion of the anchor into body tissue to effect sliding movement between said rib in said tubular outer member and the anchor.
Specification