A surgical implant for fixing a soft tissue to a bone comprising a staple and a plate. The staple and the plate are positionable on an instrument in such a way that the plate may be manipulated with the instrument to hold the soft tissue against the bone and in such a way that the staple is fixable to the bone with the plate positioned between a bridge of the staple and the soft tissue when legs of the staple are driven through the plate and into the bone.

A system for repairing a valve leaflet in minimally invasive surgery includes: a delivery device comprising: an operating handle; an outer delivery tube coupled to the operating handle; a delivery needle coupled to the operating handle; and a pushing tube coupled to the operating handle. The system further comprises a repair component comprising an anchor and a connection wire. The delivery device is configured to perform, in response to a trigger operation, a linkage release operation that includes actuating the delivery needle and releasing the repair component.

Assemblies for securing a fractured or weakened bone within a subject's body are provided. The assembly includes a frame having an adjustable flexible member construct thereon. The adjustable flexible member construct is disposed in the frame such that the adjustable flexible member and the frame encircle the fractured or weakened bone.

Implant delivery systems for delivering sheet-like implants include a delivery shaft, an implant expander, a sheath, and a sheet-like implant. In some embodiments, the delivery shaft has a proximal end and a distal end. The implant expander is mounted to the distal end of the delivery shaft. The implant expander includes a central portion and a plurality of leg portions radiating from the central portion. The implant expander is evertable between an unstressed configuration in which a distal surface of the implant expander defines a concave surface, and a first compact configuration in which the distal surface of the implant expander defines a convex surface. The implant expander has a first lateral extent when the implant expander is free to assume the unstressed configuration. The sheath defines a lumen having a lumen diameter. At least a portion of the delivery shaft is slidably disposed in the lumen. The lumen diameter is smaller than the first lateral extent of the implant expander so that the sheath holds the implant expander in the first compact configuration when slidably disposed therein. The sheet-like implant overlays at least a portion of the distal surface of the implant expander with portions of the sheet-like implant extending between the leg portions of the implant expander and the sheath. Methods of treating a rotator cuff of a shoulder are also disclosed.

A system including a tensioning element and a fixation element, the tensioning element including a connection element configured to be coupled to a fixation element and an anchoring element configured to be coupled to an external fixation point, the tensioning element being operable to apply a tension between the connection element and the anchoring element, the fixation element including a first portion configured to be coupled to the tensioning element and a second portion configured to be coupled to a bone, the tensioning element and the fixation element being configured to cooperate to apply a tension between the bone and an external fixation point when the anchoring element of the tensioning element is coupled to the external fixation point, the second portion of the fixation element is coupled to the bone, and the tensioning element is operated to apply the tension, thereby retaining the bone in a fixed position.

An implant for assisting contraction and/or extension of a muscle comprises a stem (10) with an adhesion resistant segment (14) and an anchoring segment (20) wherein at least a portion of each of said adhesion resistant segment and said anchoring segment is configured to be implantable within a muscle and said anchoring segment is positioned on a distal portion of said stem and said adhesion resistant segment is positioned proximally on said stem relative to said anchoring segment.

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for securing soft tissue to bone. One exemplary embodiment of a device includes an anchor, a repair filament, and a connecting filament that is coupled to the repair filament, is in contact with the anchor's distal end, and is effective to connect the repair filament to the anchor such that the repair filament slides with respect to the anchor. The anchor can be rigid, and can include an axial bore extending therethrough. At least one of the repair filament and the connecting filament can extend through at least a portion of the axial bore, and the bore can be sized such that a portion of the filament extending therethrough barely fits to help maintain the connection between the anchor, repair filament, and connecting filament. Embodiments of the systems and devices disclosed can be used in a number of methods for repairing soft tissue.

Methods and devices are provided for anchoring a ligament or tendon to bone. In general, various inserter tools are provided for simultaneously delivering an expandable sheath and an expander into bone. With both components of the implant mounted on the same tool, the sheath and a ligament can be advanced into a bone hole and the expander, which trails behind the sheath during delivery of the sheath, can be advanced into the sheath to expand the sheath and anchor the sheath and ligament within the bone hole.

Surgical devices and methods are provided for anchoring tissue to bone, and more particularly methods and devices are provided for preventing over-insertion of an expander into a sheath of a two-piece anchor. For example, a tendon anchoring system is provided with an anchor assembly and an inserter tool. The anchor assembly includes a sheath with a threaded lumen and a threaded expander screw configured to be threadably disposed within the sheath to cause the sheath to expand outward. The inserter tool includes an elongate outer shaft with a distal end configured to couple to a proximal end of the sheath, and an elongate inner shaft with a distal drive tip configured to engage a proximal end of the expander screw. In one embodiment, the inner shaft can be rotatable relative to the outer shaft to thread the expander screw into the sheath, and the inner shaft can be prevented from rotating relative to the outer shaft when the expander screw is fully threaded into the sheath to prevent over-insertion of the expander screw into the sheath.

A suture construction and method for forming a suture construction is disclosed. The construction utilizes a suture having an enlarged central body portion defining a longitudinal passage. First and second ends of the suture are passed through first and second apertures associated with the longitudinal passage to form a pair of loops. Portions of the suture lay parallel to each other within the suture. Application of tension onto the suture construction causes constriction of the longitudinal passage, thus preventing relative motions of the captured portions of the suture.