Suture anchor and method

• US 6,773,450 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2002
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ethicon Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson), Ethicon, LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Quill Medical, Inc. (Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kaplan, Andrew, Ruff, Gregory, Leung, Jeffrey C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Julian W.
• Application Number:
  US10/216,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20040030354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 606/72, 606/75, 606/228-232
• US Class Current: 606/232
• 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 17/06166 Sutures suture materials A61L17/00; manufacture of artificial threads D01D; treatment of threads D06M
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/064 Surgical staples, i.e. penetrating the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1146 of tendons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0412 having anchoring barbs or pins extending outwardly from suture anchor body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0427 having anchoring barbs or pins extending outwardly from the anchor body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0462 One way system, i.e. also tensioning the suture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06057 Double-armed sutures, i.e. sutures having a needle attached to each end
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/06176 with protrusions, e.g. barbs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 606/908 Bioabsorbable material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 606/91 Polymer

Abstract

A suture anchor for approximating tissue to bone comprises an anchor member for securing the suture anchor to the bone and a plurality of sutures mounted to the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member. Each suture has a sharp pointed end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs which permit movement of the sutures through the tissue in one direction of movement of the pointed end and prevent movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in the opposite direction. The ends of the sutures are inserted and pushed through the tissue along a curvilinear path in a direction away from the bone. The sutures are drawn from exit points longitudinally spaced from the points of insertion and reinserted and advanced along a curvilinear path in the direction away from the bone. The sutures are drawn through the tissue while approximating the tissue adjacent the bone along the suture and leaving a length of the sutures in the tissue. The exit and entry points of two of the sutures are adjacent and the paths of the sutures substantially mirror one another.

Claims

1. A suture anchor for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone; and

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery and disposed along the length of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end.

2. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, wherein the distal end of the anchor member is pointed for driving into the bone.

3. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, wherein the anchor member comprises a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the anchor member, the barbs permitting movement of the anchor member through the bone in a direction of movement of the distal end and preventing movement of the relative to the bone in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the distal end.

4. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for mounting the sutures to the proximal end of the anchor member.

5. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, wherein the sutures are formed from a material that is absorbed by the body after a predetermined period of time.

6. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, wherein the anchor member is formed from a material that is absorbed by the body after a predetermined period of time.

7. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, wherein the sutures are formed from a material that is absorbed by the body after a predetermined period of time.

9. A suture anchor as recited in claim 1, for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone;

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end; and

a needle at the distal end of each suture.

8. A suture anchor for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone;

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end; and

means for mounting the sutures to the proximal end of the anchor member, wherein the suture mounting means includes a portion of the body of the anchor member, which defines an opening in the proximal end of the anchor member for accepting the sutures.

10. A suture anchor for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone; and

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end,

wherein the suture anchor is formed from a material that is not absorbed by the body.

11. A suture anchor for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone; and

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end,

wherein the anchor member is formed from a material that is not absorbed by the body.

12. A suture anchor for approximating tissue and bone, the suture anchor comprising:

an anchor member having a distal end and a proximal end, the anchor member adapted to fixedly engage the bone to secure the anchor member relative to the bone; and

a plurality of sutures mounted to the proximal end of the anchor member so that the sutures extend outwardly from the anchor member, each suture having a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body of the suture, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end,

wherein the sutures are formed from a material that is not absorbed by the body.

13. A method for approximating tissue to a bone to allow regrowth and healing of the tissue and bone in vivo using a suture anchor, the suture anchor including an anchor member adapted to be fixedly mounted to the bone and a plurality of sutures extending from the anchor member, the tissue approximating method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing on the sutures a sharp pointed distal end for penetrating the tissue and a plurality of barbs extending from the periphery of the body, the barbs permitting movement of the sutures through the tissue in a direction of movement of the pointed end and preventing movement of the sutures relative to the tissue in a direction opposite the direction of movement of the pointed end;

(b) securing the anchor member in the bone such that the sutures extend from the bone surface;

(c) inserting the pointed end of a first suture into the tissue;

(d) pushing the end of the first suture through the tissue along a curvilinear path in a direction away from the bone until the point at the end of the first suture extends out of the tissue at an exit point in the periphery of the tissue longitudinally spaced from the point of insertion into the tissue;

(e) gripping the pointed end of the first suture and pulling the pointed end out of the tissue for drawing the first suture through the tissue while approximating the tissue adjacent the bone along the first suture in the tissue and leaving a length of the first suture in the tissue;

(f) inserting the pointed end of the first suture into the periphery of the tissue adjacent the exit point;

(g) pushing the first suture through the tissue along a curvilinear path in the direction away from the bone until the pointed end of the first suture extends out of the tissue at an exit point in the periphery of the tissue and longitudinally spaced from the previous insertion point in the tissue;

(h) gripping the pointed end of the first suture and pulling the end out of the tissue for drawing the first suture through the tissue leaving a length of the first portion of the suture in the tissue;

(i) repeating steps (f) through (h) for advancing longitudinally along the tissue in the direction away from the bone; and

(j) repeating steps (c) through (i) with the pointed end of a second suture so that the exit and entry points of the second suture in the tissue are adjacent to the corresponding exit and entry points of the first suture and the path of the second suture substantially mirrors the path of the first suture.

14. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 13, wherein the step of inserting the pointed end of the suture into the periphery of the tissue is at the exit point of the pointed end.

15. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second sharp pointed distal ends are straight.

16. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second sharp pointed distal ends are curved.

17. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second sharp pointed distal ends are surgical needles.

18. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 17, wherein the needles are straight.

19. A method for approximating tissue to bone as recited in claim 17, wherein the needles are curved.