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. Portions of the suture lay parallel to each other within the suture, Application of tension onto the suture construction causes retraction of the soft tissue implant into the femoral tunnel.

A suture anchor is disclosed having an outer body with an axial bore which receives and inner body for rotation. Suture passes between the inner body and outer body and rotation of the inner body wraps the suture thereabout locking the suture thereto. Rotation of the inner body also effects radial expansion of at least a portion of the outer body to engage to anchor into a bone hole.

This disclosure describes embodiments of an anchor with a body configured to expand radially outwardly along its entire length. The anchor includes, but is not limited to, a cylindrical body having a longitudinal axis and an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a central bore, the cylindrical body having a slot exposing the central bore, the slot having a helical path around the longitudinal axis, wherein the slot is configured to expand so that the cylindrical body changes from a first state to a second state in response to pressure on the inner surface, and wherein an outer diameter of cylindrical body in the second state is larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical body in the first state.

A bone anchor including an outer sleeve defining slots and an inner sleeve including fins extendable radially outward through the slots to engage surrounding cancellous bone. The outer sleeve includes an outward extending flange disposed about an opening defined by the outer sleeve configured to receive a fastener. The flange can seat against cortical bone around an opening sized for the anchor. The anchor can be a suture anchor including the fastener that engages the inner sleeve when installed therein and pushes the fins outward to engage the cancellous bone as the fastener is installed, better securing the anchor to the bone, particularly where the bone is osteoporotic, weak, broken, diseased, and/or compromised. The outer sleeve can include projections between fins to prevent rotation as the fastener is installed. A related method of using the suture anchor is provided to anchor soft tissue with a suture to bone.

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. Portions of the suture lay parallel to each other within the suture. Application of tension onto the suture construction causes retraction of the soft tissue implant into the femoral tunnel.

This disclosure describes embodiments of an anchor with a body configured to expand radially outwardly along its entire length. The anchor includes, but is not limited to, an elongate body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween, the elongate body having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a bore aligned with and extending along the longitudinal axis, the elongate body comprising a slot penetrating into the outer surface towards the longitudinal axis, the slot forming a path circumscribing the longitudinal axis.

Various devices, systems and methods for knotless anchoring of sutures to repair bodily tissue are disclosed. These devices allow sutures to be anchored to bone or other tissues, and more specifically provide a suture anchor which eliminates the need for the operator to knot the suture to secure the suture under tension. Thus, damaged tissue may be re-attached to a substrate tissue. The anchors have a minimum of moving parts and find particular utility in hip and shoulder arthroscopy, e.g. labral reattachment, rotator cuff repair, and similar procedures.

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. Portions of the suture lay parallel to each other within the suture. Application of tension onto the suture construction causes retraction of the soft tissue implant into the femoral tunnel.

A method for impacting a suture anchor into bone comprises providing an implantable suture anchor and providing an impactor device for impacting the suture anchor into the bone. The suture anchor is coupled to a distal portion of the impactor device. Positioning the suture anchor engages the anchor with the bone at an implantation site, and powering the impactor device impacts the suture anchor thereby implanting the suture anchor into the bone. The frequency of impaction is less than 20 KHz. The impactor device is then decoupled from the suture anchor, and the impactor device may be removed from the implantation site.

The present invention provides a method for stabilizing a fractured bone. The method includes positioning an elongate rod in the medullary canal of the fractured bone and forming a passageway through the cortex of the bone. The passageway extends from the exterior surface of the bone to the medullary canal of the bone. The method also includes creating a bonding region on the elongate rod. The bonding region is generally aligned with the passageway of the cortex. Furthermore, the method includes positioning a fastener in the passageway of the cortex and on the bonding region of the elongate rod and thermally bonding the fastener to the bonding region of the elongate rod while the fastener is positioned in the passageway of the cortex.