Soft suture anchor

A suture anchor assembly, adapted to be attached to a bone, comprising:

• (a) an anchor, which has an undeployed state in which it is soft and flexible, and which can be deployed into a deployed state which is compacted and hard, relative to said undeployed state, and defining a central hold region, where said anchor is optimally held as said anchor is deployed, portions of said anchor extending laterally on both sides from said central hold region;
• (b) one or more deployment strands engaged into said anchor and extending out of said anchor, and wherein, when said anchor is in said undeployed state, holding said anchor in place at said central hold region and pulling on said one or more deployment strands compacts said anchor into said deployed state by pulling said portions of said anchor extending laterally on both sides into a ball at said central hold region;
• and
• (c) wherein said anchor in said undeployed state comprises a strand of braided material and wherein a portion of said strand of braided material is expanded to define a central lumen and wherein a first penetration point and a second penetration point, displaced along the length of said braided material from said first penetration point, is formed in said strand of braided material and said strand of braided material extends through said first penetration point into said lumen, extends through said lumen along the length of said braided material, and extends out of said second penetration point, out of said lumen, and extends in a loop, and once again extends through said first penetration point into said lumen and out of said second penetration point, out of said lumen, so that two lengths of said strand of braided material extend through said lumen of said strand of braided material along the length of said braided material, thereby forming a double loop and wherein said strand of braided material has a first end portion and a second end portion, which form said one or more deployment strands and wherein said lumen between said first penetration point and said second penetration point forms said central hold region;
• and
• (d) whereby said anchor can be introduced into a hole in bone and held in place at said hold region, as it is transformed into said deployed state by pulling on said one or more deployment strands, thereby causing said portions of said anchor extending laterally on both sides from said central hold region to collapse toward said central hold region, thereby anchoring said anchor in said hole.