Filing Information

Inventor(s)	Hugh Sharkey · Gary Fanton ·
Assignee(s)	Oratec Interventions, Inc. ·  View assignee updates
Attorney/Agent(s)	Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati ·
Primary Examiner	Michael Powell Buiz ·
Assistant Examiner	Gring; N. Kent ·
Application Number	US8616752
Filing date	03/15/1996
Issue date	10/20/1998
Predicted expiration date	03/15/2016
U.S. Classifications	604/60  · 604/57  ·
International Classifications	A61M 3100  ·
Kind Code	A
International Classifications	60460;57;72;11;15;46;158;161;164;171 ·

Patent Family

Abstract

An apparatus for repairing a wound in soft tissue includes an introducer trocar with a sharpened distal end and a hollow lumen. An elongated pin has a distal end, a proximal end and a central section. The pin is formed of compacted, hydrophilic, cross-linked collagen and introduced into the hollow lumen in a non-deployed state. An advancement member includes a distal end and is at least partially positioned in the hollow lumen. The advancement member advances the elongated pin out of the introducer trocar distal end and into a soft tissue structure in the pin's non-deployed state and across a wound in the soft tissue structure. The pin becomes deployed to a deployed state when the collagen in the pin begins to hydrolyze, anchoring the pin and the wound so that the wound can be healed quickly. This produces a maintenance of position for two non-continuous bodies of soft tissue relative to each other. The non-continuity may be the result of a wound, laceration, cut or tear in contiguous soft tissue or at a location where approximation and joining of two discontinues soft tissue structures is desirable.

Independent Claims | See all claims (21)

1. 1. A soft tissue fixation pin apparatus, comprising:an introducer trocar with a hollow lumen;an elongated pin located in the hollow lumen, the elongated pin including a distal end, a proximal end and a central section, the elongated pin including a hydrophilic, cross-linked collagen and being introduced into the hollow lumen in a non-deployed state; andan advancement member with a distal end and at least partially positioned in the hollow lumen, wherein the advancement member advances the elongated pin out of the introducer trocar distal end and into a soft tissue structure in the non-deployed state and across a wound in the soft tissue structure,wherein the elongated pin transforms in shape from the non-deployed state to an enlarged deployed state when the hydrophilic, cross-linked collagen in the elongated pin begins to hydrolyze.
2. 13. A method of repairing a wound in a soft tissue site, comprising:providing a pin in a non-deployed state with a proximal end, a distal end, and at central section, said pin including a compressed collagen;introducing the pin into a selected soft tissue site;advancing the pin in the selected soft tissue site to a position where the distal end is on a first side of the wound, the proximal end is on a second side of the wound, and the central section extends across the wound;hydrolyzing the compressed collagen to transform the shape of the pin in the soft tissue from the non-deployed state to an expanded deployed state; andanchoring the distal end and the proximal end in the selected soft tissue site.