Suture passer systems for tissue suspension and tissue compression are described. The system can include a shaft and a needle, wherein the needle is freely rotatable with respect to the shaft. The suture may include an overmolded segment. Methods of placing one or more implants, sutures, fastener, bone anchors and other devices are also described. The methods include moving tissue, including the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle, palatopharyngeal arch, and palatoglossal arch. The methods include hyoid bone suspension.

An elongated actuator including: an elongated inner tube for carrying a pressurized actuation fluid; a helical coil wrapped around the elongated inner tube; wherein the actuator undergoes actuation by means of pressure fluctuations in the elongated inner tube.

There is provided a product comprising a suture thread which, prior to being used to form a surgical suture, is in a stressed state which gives the suture thread a tendency to undergo lengthwise viscoelastic contraction. The suture thread undergoes viscoelastic contraction when in use as a surgical suture and this may promote wound healing to a greater extent than a conventional suture thread which does not undergo viscoelastic contraction.

In one embodiment, the present invention is a braided filament including a plurality of strands each having at least one ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber and at least one polyester fiber wherein the quantity of certain types of fibers in a first strand is the same as the quantity of the same type of fibers in a second strand. In a variant, one additional strand of the braided filament is a monofilament strand. In another variant, each strand is homogeneous with respect to the other strands and is made exclusively from ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fibers and polyester fibers such that each strand has the same distribution and quantity of fiber types.

A tendon repair suture tape comprising a flat braid of elastic, absorbable fibers and high strength fibers, the tape being at least 1 mm wide and 2 cm long, and less than 0.2 mm high. The suture tape includes at least 4 absorbable fibers and at least 4 high strength fibers. Further, the suture tape is capable of being stretched at least 10% from its shortest length to the length at which it breaks, presents an increasing resistance to further stretching as it is stretched, and is capable of withstanding a load of at least 260 Newtons before breaking.

There is provided a product comprising a suture thread which, prior to being used to form a surgical suture, is in a stressed state which gives the suture thread a tendency to undergo lengthwise viscoelastic contraction. The suture thread undergoes viscoelastic contraction when in use as a surgical suture and this may promote wound healing to a greater extent than a conventional suture thread which does not undergo viscoelastic contraction.

A knotless tissue repair assembly for attachment of tissue to bone includes an anchoring implant with a length of suture threaded therethrough. The implant is preferably a soft flexible three-dimensional structure. The implant may be actuated from a first elongate low profile shape into a second short radially expanded shape having a larger diameter than the hole through which it was placed. The suture extends through the anchor, through a tissue to be secured, and back through a designated suture-binding region or passageway within the anchor enabling the suture to be secured therein and without the need for a physician to tie a knot. Further tension applied to a suture leg approximates the tissue to the anchor until a desired tension or distance between the tissue and anchor is achieved.

A prosthetic implant including an anchor member; at least one resilient tethering strut extending from the anchor member; a coaptation structure coupled to an end of the at least one resilient tethering strut; and a tensioning unit extending between the anchor member and the coaptation structure. The tensioning unit including a flexible hollow tubing, and a tensioning wire extending therethrough with a first end of the tensioning wire fixed at a junction between a first end of the flexible hollow tubing and the coaptation structure and with a second end of the tensioning wire extending out from a second end of the flexible hollow tubing. The second end of the tensioning wire being pullable away from the second end of the flexible hollow tubing to bend the flexible hollow tubing and the at least one resilient tethering strut to move the coaptation structure relative to the anchor member.

A method and apparatus for coupling a soft tissue implant into a locking cavity formed within a bone is disclosed. The apparatus includes a member to pull the soft tissue implant into a femoral tunnel. The member includes a suture having first and second ends which are passed through first and second openings associated with the longitudinal passage to form a pair of loops. A collapsible tube is positioned about the suture Application of tension onto the suture construction causes retraction of the soft tissue implant into the femoral tunnel and the collapse of the tube to form an anchor.

A method is described for shearing a tissue wall between a first cavity and an adjacent second cavity in a human or animal body. The tissue wall has a periphery forming an edge of an opening between the first cavity and the second cavity. A first member is placed into the first cavity, such that the first member is adjacent the wall. A second member is placed in the second cavity, proximate the first member. The first and second members have materials which magnetically attract one another. The first member and the second member are placed such that there is magnetic attraction between the first member and the second member through the wall and thereby compress an overlapping portion of the wall to create pressure necrosis. The first member and the second member are connected by a thread, wherein the thread extends over the edge of the opening.