A method for securing suture to bone comprises drilling a hole in a desired portion of bone at a desired procedural site, passing a strand of suture through a portion of soft tissue to be approximated to the portion of bone, and extending the free suture ends proximally from the soft tissue. The suture is loaded into an anchor implant. Using an inserter, on a distal end of which is attached the anchor implant, the anchor implant is manipulated into the bone hole. The suture is then tensioned to a desired level by pulling on the free suture ends, after the anchor implant is positioned in the bone hole. The free suture ends are wrapped about a suture cleat on an inserter handle once the desired tension level is achieved. A proximal anchor component is moved distally to engage with a distal anchor component to lock the anchor in place within the bone hole, and to lock the suture in place within the anchor. Then, the inserter is removed from the procedural site.

The invention provides surgical methods, devices, apparatus, and systems for supporting the thumb of a patient after basal joint arthroplasty. The embodiments of the invention comprise at least one index metacarpal anchor, at least one thumb metacarpal anchor, at least one sling for positioning the thumb metacarpal anchor relative to the index metacarpal anchor, and at least one anchor washer for tightening and securing the sling(s) without the need to tie the suture(s) components of the sling(s) into knots. Index and thumb metacarpal anchors comprise at least one bone-engaging element for engaging the respective metacarpal. The anchor washer may incorporate one or more sling-engagement mechanisms. Increasing the number of sling-engagement mechanisms associated with the anchor washer increases the surface area of the sling(s) and provides multiple sling elements to provide redundancy and increase the pull force of the sling(s) attachment(s) used to affix the thumb and index metacarpal anchors into a position relative to each other.

A medical device for approximating and securing tissue without requiring knots includes a lock-head, a strap section, distal protuberance, and a leader section. The device also includes a transition section between the leader and the strap section and a stiffening section proximal to the protuberance. The leader section is used to draw the strap section into the body through small apertures in tissue and the transition section provides a gradual transition in stiffness and size between the leader and the strap section.

Methods and systems are provided for securing tissue to bone. A suture anchor can include an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end and an external surface with a plurality of longitudinally spaced bone-engaging features formed at least partially circumferentially thereon over at least a portion of a length of the suture anchor. The proximal end can have a lumen extending at least partially into the elongate body and the distal end can have a suture engaging feature proximate thereto. A first series of bone-engaging features can have a dimension that increases from a distal to a proximal end of each bone-engaging feature of the first series of bone-engaging features. A second series of bone-engaging features can have a dimension that decreases from a distal to a proximal end of each bone-engaging feature of the second series of bone-engaging features.

Devices, systems and methods for compressing, cutting, incising, reconfiguring, remodeling, attaching, repositioning, supporting, dislocating or altering the composition of tissues or anatomical structures to alter their positional or force relationship to other tissues or anatomical structures. In some applications, the invention may be used to used to improve patency or fluid flow through a body lumen or cavity (e.g., to limit constriction of the urethra by an enlarged prostate gland).

Systems and methods are presented for data quality monitoring. Data quality monitors may be created and configured to identify objects with specified data quality issues and/or property values. Objects identified by a data quality monitor can be presented to users for confirmation and resolution. Properties used by the data quality monitor to match objects may also be displayed to users.

Methods and systems are provided for securing tissue to bone. A surgical system can include a driver having a proximal handle and a driver shaft extending therefrom, a distal awl shaft, a proximal awl shaft separate from the distal awl shaft and movable with respect to the distal awl shaft, a suture anchor, and a dilator feature distal to the suture anchor. The distal and proximal awl shafts are receivable in at least part of a lumen of the driver. In a bone forming configuration of the system, in which the distal awl shaft is driven into bone, a distal end of the proximal awl shaft abuts a proximal end of the distal awl shaft. The proximal awl shaft can be moved proximally, such as by activating an awl handle coupled thereto, with respect to the distal awl shaft to move the system in a suture anchor insertion configuration.

Methods and apparatus for creating a seam like array of suture stitches joined in series by sequential anchors in bone. The anchors are transtendon implants positioned through the tendon in the original tendon footprint and each array includes four or more anchors. The seam like array extends across at least a portion of the tendon. The stitches can extend generally perpendicular to the direction of the tendon orientation. In rotator cuff repair, the anchors are positioned in the original footprints of the infraspinatus and/or supraspinatus tendons and the seam like array extends in an anterior to posterior direction across the particular tendons torn and repaired. The entire array of anchors can be positioned in the medial half of the original footprints.

A suture anchor including a base, a deformable portion, and a first passage and a second passage each formed in the base to allow a suture to pass therethrough, wherein the deformable portion is a cantilever state having a fixed end, which is disposed at a side of one end of the base, and a free end, which is disposed at a side of the other end of the base relative to the fixed end and which is separated by a space from the base, and the deformable portion is deformable in a direction in which the free end approaches the base, the first passage communicates the upper side and the lower side of the base, the second passage communicates the space and a side of the one end of the fixed end, and the deformable portion is deformed due to a tensile force applied to the suture.

An anchor for anchoring tensile members to bone includes: a housing having a hollow interior; a collet in the interior of the housing, having a central bore for accepting tensile members therethrough and an exterior surface, wherein the collet is configured to be swaged around the tensile members; a sleeve having opposed interior and exterior surfaces, the sleeve disposed in the hollow interior of the housing and positioned adjacent to the collet, so as to be movable between first and second positions; wherein at least one of the exterior surface of the collet and the interior surface of the sleeve is tapered and the sleeve and the collet are arranged such that movement of the sleeve from the first position to the second position will cause the collet to swage radially inwards around the tensile members; and a flange element, wherein the housing is pivotally mounted to the flange element.