The present disclosure relates to an anchor assembly. The anchor assembly includes an anchor defining a cavity and an opening to the cavity; and a headless insertion member configured for arrangement within the anchor cavity, the insertion member including a body having a threaded proximal portion, a non-threaded distal portion, and a cannulation extending a partial length of the insertion member. Other anchor assemblies, anchors, and delivery devices are also disclosed.

In one embodiment, the present invention is a system for repairing a meniscus including: a suture assembly including a first anchor, a second anchor, and a flexible suture connecting the first anchor and the second anchor, the flexible suture including a slide knot between the first anchor and the second anchor; and an inserter including a needle having a longitudinal extending bore and an open distal end, the bore being configured to receive the first anchor and the second anchor, a housing operatively connected to a proximal end of the needle, the housing having a lumen and a slot, the slot including a first portion, a second portion, a first shoulder and a second shoulder and a pusher configured to rotate and slide within the lumen of the housing and the longitudinal extending bore of the needle, the pusher having an extension extending through the slot and configured to be maneuverable through the first portion and second portion and engageable with the first shoulder and second shoulder.

Methods and devices for transvascular prosthetic chordae tendinae implantation are disclosed. A catheter is advanced into the left atrium. From an atrium side, the catheter can be anchored to a superior surface of a mitral valve leaflet and a leaflet anchor can be advanced into the mitral valve leaflet to secure the mitral valve leaflet to a leaflet suture. A ventricular anchor is anchored to the wall of the ventricle to secure the ventricular wall to a ventricle suture. The leaflet suture and the ventricle suture may be tensioned and connected by a suture lock to form an artificial chordae.

This disclosure details a surgical system and method, which is permits percutaneous insertion of anchors, and is useful in orthopedic surgical procedures involving fixation of soft tissue to bone. Because the anchors may be inserted percutaneously, the anchors can be inserted into bone without requiring a skin incision and without requiring a pre-drilled bone hole. As such, use of the disclosed system and method leads to a reduction in the number of steps in a surgical procedure, which reduces surgery time, while also reducing the size of openings formed in the skin relative to other known techniques, which reduces recovery times and results in smaller and less noticeable scarring.

A tissue anchor system is provided that includes a first tissue anchor, a second tissue anchor that is separate and distinct from the first tissue anchor, and one or more tethers, which are configured to couple the first tissue anchor to the second tissue anchor. When the first tissue anchor is unconstrained, a head thereof is coaxial with an axis of a shaft thereof, and a tissue-coupling element thereof extends from a distal end of the shaft, is generally orthogonal to the axis, and is shaped such that if the tissue-coupling element were to be projected onto a plane that is perpendicular to the axis, at least 80% of an area of a projection of the tissue-coupling element on the plane would fall within a first angle of 180 degrees in the plane having a vertex at the axis. Other embodiments are also described.

A device is described. The device includes a suture guide and a tissue retracting surface to enable accurate and safe delivery of sutures through tissue.

Devices, systems and/or methods for fixating soft tissue to bone are provided. In one embodiment, a repair device for fixating soft tissue to bone with a bone anchor includes a soft tissue anchor and one or more flexible members. The soft tissue anchor includes a base with multiple legs extending from the base. The one or more flexible members are coupled to the base and configured to extend from the base to the bone anchor with a fixed length. With this arrangement, the fixed length of the one or more flexible members is configured to maintain a fixed distance between the soft tissue anchor and the bone anchor such that, as the bone anchor is seated into bone, the one or more flexible members pulls the soft tissue anchor down against the soft tissue to fixate the soft tissue to the bone.

A method of closing a patent foramen ovale (PFO) including a septum primum and septum secundum is implemented using a suture device including an operational shaft housing an anchor assembly, a needle assembly, and a suture. The method includes advancing an end of the operational shaft to a proximal side of the PFO, positioning a distal portion of the end of the operational shaft on a distal side of the PFO, and actuating the anchor assembly to deploy the anchor assembly on the distal side of the PFO. The method also includes actuating the needle assembly on the proximal side of the PFO to deploy the needle assembly through the PFO and the anchor assembly, thereby deploying the suture through the PFO. The method further includes retracting the anchor assembly into the operational shaft, and withdrawing the distal portion of the operational shaft from the PFO, leaving the deployed suture.

The present invention includes a single molded strip of suture anchors frangibly connected to each other that can be preloaded with a suture and then deployed at the site of use inside the body. This configuration eliminates the need to reload an anchor when multiple anchors are required. Further, this molded strip of anchors can include different variations of a suture anchor or locking device all in the same single strip. The strip would typically be molded from plastic or metal and would offer the additional advantage of being injection molded in a one piece shot which would not only save on cost per anchor but would offer assembly advantages as well.

A suture having a first end for penetrating tissue, an elongated suture body having a periphery; a plurality of retainers on the periphery, and a second end having a variable loop of variable circumference, wherein the variable loop includes a fixed loop slidably engaging the elongated body for slidingly varying the circumference of the variable loop, and wherein the first end may pass through the variable loop to secure tissue as an anchor, the anchor preventing movement of the suture in the direction of deployment of the first end.