Expandable tissue anchor

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/210,830, filed Jun. 12, 2000.

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates to an expandable tissue anchor, and more specifically, to an expandable, biodegradable tissue anchor for use in arthroscopic surgical shoulder repair.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] Expandable anchors are known for use in surgical applications. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,001 and 5,968,044 to Nicholson et al., which disclose a bone fastener having an expandable sleeve with an axial bore, and a pin with an outer diameter greater than an inner diameter of at least a portion of the axial bore for expanding the sleeve. A holder is severably attached to the sleeve for use during installation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,240 to Metzler et al. discloses an expandable anchor in which a pin is pulled proximally to deploy the device.

[0007] Other expandable anchors are known for anchoring to building materials such as brick and concrete. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,289 to Choiniere discloses an expandable anchor with an expanding pin. The pin has a radial shoulder such that the pin locks inside the expandable anchor sleeve after insertion and expansion.

[0008] All of these prior art devices require a pre-drilled hole for installation of the anchor. The anchor is placed into the pre-drilled hole and then expanded to provide fixation.

[0009] Accordingly, a need exists in the prior art for an expandable anchor that does not require pre-drilling of a bore that accommodates the anchor.

[0010] The present invention provides an expandable anchor that is driven into bone without the need for pre-drilling a bore to accommodate the anchor. The anchor utilizes an inner dowel pin, preferably made of a bioabsorbable material such as PLLA, to expand the anchor after it is pushed into place in the bone, and to hold the pin within the anchor. During insertion, the spreadable tip of the anchor is held together by a frangible connection formed of a non-slotted section at the tip of the anchor. As the dowel pin is advanced and the anchor legs spread, the connections are severed to allow complete expansion. In certain types of bone, it may be necessary to punch or drill a small hole to receive the tip of the anchor. Typically, however, no pre-drilling of bone is required.

[0011] Advantageously, the non-slotted section allows for driving the device into hard bone without prematurely expanding. Preferably, the push in dowel is made up of low molecular weight polymer to expand in a short period to fixate the dowel as well as increase the overall expansion of the device. In addition, the head is radiused to contour with the anatomical shape of the soft tissue and underlying bone.

[0012] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is an elevation of an expandable tissue anchor according to the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the expandable tissue anchor taken along the line A—A of FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a top end view of the tissue anchor of FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates the tissue anchor with the dowel pin being inserted into the anchor.

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates a driver for the tissue anchor according to the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates an anchor insertion assembly according to the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates a dowel pin insertion assembly according to the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates a dowel pin driver assembly according to the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates the tissue anchor of the present invention inserted through tissue and into bone, with dowel pin inserted.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, an expandable, bioabsorbable tissue anchor 2 according to the present invention is shown. Tissue anchor 2 has a body 4 and a head 6. The body 4 includes a series of ridges 8 for engaging bone. The body 4 includes a smooth shank 10 attached to the head 6. The ridged portion of body 4 is divided into two legs by a pair of slots 12. A non-slotted portion 14 at the distal end of the body 4 connects the two legs together to prevent them from expanding prematurely during insertion of the anchor, as described further below.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the anchor 2 has a cannula 16 formed along its length. The cannula tapers at least toward the distal end to form a narrower opening. A straight dowel pin 18, shown in FIG. 4, is inserted into the cannula and expands the anchor by forcing apart the legs of the anchor. As the dowel pin is advanced, the non-slotted portion 14 initially prevents the legs from spreading at the distal tip, and subsequently severs under the increased tension provided by the advancing dowel, thereby allowing the legs to spread apart freely.

[0024] The head 6 of the anchor is provided with a pair of slots 20 that accept a driver 22 shown in FIG. 5. The distal end of the driver features a pair of cleats 24 that correspondingly engage the slots 20 on anchor head 6. The head 6 is radiused anatomically. Six barbs 25 are provided around the head 6 to enhance the purchase on tissue.

[0025] According to a preferred method of fixating tissue according to the present invention, an anchor insertion assembly 26 is inserted into driver 22. The anchor 2 is placed on the distal end of the driver 22, over the tapered portion 27 of the anchor insertion assembly 26, which protrudes from the distal end of driver 22. Approximately 5 mm of the distal tip of anchor insertion assembly 26 extends beyond the distal tip of the anchor to provide a sharp point for penetrating tissue and bone. The pointed distal tip of the anchor insertion assembly is placed against the tissue to be fixated, the tissue is approximated adjacent the bone attachment site, and the anchor is driven into the bone by impaction, for example. If necessary, a punch or drill can be used initially to penetrate the tissue and/or the cortical layer of bone prior to insertion of the anchor using the anchor insertion assembly and the anchor driver.

[0026] Once the anchor has been driven into the bone, anchor insertion assembly 26 is removed from the driver 22, and is replaced by a cannulated pin insertion assembly 28 shown in FIG. 7. The dowel pin 18 is inserted into the pin insertion assembly and advanced using pin driver 30 shown in FIG. 8. The pin driver 30 is used to advance the dowel pin inside the tissue anchor to expand the anchor as described above. The pin driver assembly engages the proximal end of the dowel pin and drives it into the anchor, completing the tissue fixation. The length of the pin driver assembly is such that once the cap handle of the pin driver engages the proximal end of the pin insertion assembly, the pin is fully seated within the anchor. FIG. 9 shows the tissue anchor 2 of the present invention fully seated in bone, with dowel pin 18 inserted, thereby expanding slots 12, and securing tissue 32 against bone 34, with ridges 8 preventing the anchor from backing out of the bone.

[0027] Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.