The present invention relates to methods and instruments for fixation of sutures and tissue to bone.
When soft tissue such as a ligament or a tendon becomes detached from a bone, surgery is usually required to reattach or reconstruct the tissue. Often, a tissue graft is attached to the bone to facilitate regrowth and permanent attachment. Various fixation devices, including sutures, screws, staples, wedges, and plugs have been used in the past to secure soft tissue to bone. For example, in typical interference screw fixation, the graft is fixed to the bone by driving the screw into a blind hole or a tunnel in the bone while trapping the end of the graft between the screw and the bone tunnel. In other methods, the graft is simply pinned against the bone using staples or sutures tied around the end of the graft to the bone.
Application Ser. No. 09/886,280 filed on Jun. 22, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a surgical technique and associated instruments for securing soft tissue to bone which does not require the surgeon to tie suture knots to secure the tissue to the bone. According to the technique, a cannulated plug or screw is pre-loaded onto the distal end of a cannulated driver, and a suture or wire loop is passed through the cannula of the driver so that a looped end of the suture or wire is exposed at the distal end of the driver. Suture strands attached to a graft are fed through the loop at the end of the driver, and the driver is inserted into the bottom of the hole, with the screw or plug disposed just outside the hole. With tension applied to the suture or wire loop to keep the graft at the desired location relative to the bone hole, the screw or plug is then fully advanced into the hole using the driver to frictionally secure either the suture attached to the graft or the graft itself into the bone hole.
Although the above-described technique provides an improved method of graft fixation to bone, the flexible loop configuration at the end of the driver disadvantageously impedes sliding of the suture or graft which is fed through the suture loop. In addition, because the cannulated driver of application Ser. No. 09/886,280 is provided with a flexible loop at its distal end, placement of the suture or graft at the bottom of the blind hole or socket and the cortical bone must be approximated, thus sometimes necessitating additional removal, tapping and insertion steps to ensure full insertion of the plug or screw into the blind hole or socket. This, in turn, may abrade the adjacent tissue and/or damage the bone or cartilage.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved surgical technique and associated device for securing soft tissue to bone which allows the free sliding of the suture ends attached to a graft to ensure the positioning of the graft at an appropriate distance from the device. A fixation device and associated surgical technique that allow precise advancement and guiding of the plug or screw into the blind hole or socket are also needed.
The instruments and methods of the present invention overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, such as those noted above, by providing an eyelet implant at the distal end of a driver that securely engages and locks into a cannulated ribbed body of an interference plug or screw. The eyelet implant includes a fixed aperture for receiving a suture attached to a graft, such that the suture is able to freely slide through the aperture.
In one embodiment of the invention, a pilot hole or socket is created in the bone at the location that the graft is to be secured. Suture is passed through the graft at desired points. A cannulated plug or screw is pre-loaded onto a driver provided with an eyelet implant at its distal end. Suture attached to the graft is passed through an aperture of the eyelet implant located at the distal end of the driver. The distal end of the driver together with the eyelet implant is inserted into the bottom of the hole, with the screw or plug disposed just outside the hole. Tension is applied to the suture to position the graft at the desired location relative to the bone hole. The screw or plug is then fully advanced into the pilot hole by tapping the interference screw or plug until the cannulated plug or screw securely engages and locks in the eyelet implant, so that the cannulated plug or screw with the engaged eyelet implant is flush with the bone. Once the screw or plug is fully inserted and the suture is impacted into the pilot hole, the driver is removed and any loose ends of the sutures protruding from the anchor site are then clipped short.
In another embodiment, the driver of the present invention is provided with a horseshoe-shaped implant at its distal end. The ends of suture attached to a graft to be securely contained within the horseshoe-shaped wedge of the implant are capable to freely slide within the wedge. In one embodiment, the horseshoe-shaped implant is detachable from the distal end of the driver and is securely engaged within the cannulated ribbed body of an interference plug or screw. In another embodiment, the horseshoe-shaped implant is integral with the distal end of the driver and, subsequent to the full insertion of the interference screw or plug into the pilot hole, the horseshoe-shaped implant is removed from the site together with the driver.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the driver of the present invention is provided with a metal tubing at its distal end. The metal tubing is provided with a distal cut or pair of protuberances for receiving the suture attached to a graft, while allowing the suture to freely slide within the cut. Preferably, the metal tubing is integral with the distal end of the driver and, subsequent to the full insertion of the interference screw or plug into the pilot hole, the metal tubing is removed from the site together with the driver.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, which refers to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, where like elements are designated by like reference numerals,
As illustrated in
As also shown in
A method of a graft fixation technique according to the present invention is now described with reference to
Next, as shown in
Referring now to
A significant advantage of the present invention is that the sutures attached to the graft or the graft itself can be securely attached to the bone without the need to tie knots. Additionally, the suture attached to the graft is secured both by the eyelet implant and by the interference device, along the bottom and sidewalls of the pilot hole between the bone and the screw or plug, conferring a much stronger fixation of the graft to the bone than is achievable with prior art procedures and devices. More importantly, the suture attached to the graft is allowed to freely slide though the aperture of the eyelet implant to allow precise advancement and guiding of the plug or screw into the blind hole or socket.
In another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in
The horseshoe-shaped implant 250 may be detachable from the distal end 12 of the driver 200, similar to the eyelet implant described in detail above. In this embodiment, the detachable horseshoe-shaped implant 250 is securely engaged within the cannulated ribbed body of the interference plug or screw 20. Alternatively, the horseshoe-shaped implant 250 may be integral with the distal end 12 of the driver 200 and, after the interference screw or plug 20 is fully inserted into the pilot hole, the horseshoe-shaped implant 250 is removed from the site together with the driver 200.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention and as illustrated in
Although the above embodiments have been described with reference to an implant, such as eyelet implant 50 (
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/886,280, filed Jun. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,281, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/213,263 filed Jun. 22, 2000.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5002550 | Li | Mar 1991 | A |
5152790 | Rosenberg et al. | Oct 1992 | A |
5643320 | Lower et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
6544281 | ElAttrache et al. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040093031 A1 | May 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60213263 | Jun 2000 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09886280 | Jun 2001 | US |
Child | 10405707 | US |