Bundle graft and method of making same

• US 8,202,318 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arthrex Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Arthrex Incorporated
• Inventors: Willobee, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Willse, David H
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIPMON, TIFFANY P
• Application Number:
  US11/683,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20070239275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,930 Days
• Field of Search: 623/13.11, 623/13.12, 623/13.13, 623/13.14, 623/13.19, 623/13.2
• US Class Current: 623/13.14
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/08 Muscles; Tendons; Ligaments sutures A61B17/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0075 sutured, ligatured or stitched, retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable

Abstract

A graft construct formed of a plurality of single tendon strands or soft tissue grafts placed together so that at least a portion of one of the single tendon strands is wrapped around a portion of another of the single tendon strands by employing suturing, for example. The graft construct is provided with at least two regions, one region formed of at least a plurality of tendon strands tied together, and the other region formed of loose segments of the plurality of tendon strands.

Claims

1. A graft construct for ligament reconstruction, comprising:

at least a first tissue strand having a first length; and

at least a second tissue strand separate from the first tissue strand and having a second length which is about twice the first length of the first tissue strand, wherein, at one end of the graft construct, the second tissue strand is wrapped around and stitched to the first tissue strand by a flexible strand of suture to form a triple bundle, and at an opposite end of the graft construct, ends of the first and second tissue strands of the triple bundle are unstitched.

2. The graft construct of claim 1, wherein the stitched region is about one third the length of the first tissue strand.

3. The graft construct of claim 1, wherein the unstitched region is about one third the length of the folded over second tissue strand.

4. The graft construct of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first tissue strand and the second tissue strand comprises soft tissue.

5. The graft construct of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first tissue strand and the second tissue strand is a tendon.