Implant for reinforcement of soft tissues

A soft tissue augmentation device, comprising:

• a driver having a shaft extending therefrom, the shaft including an outer sleeve, an inner shaft movable within an interior of the outer sleeve, and a window formed in the outer sleeve adjacent a handle of the driver, the handle being positioned at a proximate end of the shaft;
• an eyelet removably positioned at the end of the shaft;
• an implant operable to be threaded through an elongated opening of the eyelet, the implant having a flat width from 2 mm to 20 mm, the implant tapering down to terminate in circular cords for facilitating threading through the eyelet;
• and
• an anchor, rotatable by the driver, positioned on the shaft, adjacent the eyelet, the anchor having a helical thread, wherein:
• the anchor is movable between an initial position and a fully inserted position, wherein, at the fully inserted position, a single shaft marking disposed along the inner shaft is visible in the window and aligns with a single sleeve marking on the outer sleeve;
• and
• the elongated opening having a length from 2 mm to 10 mm, the eyelet formed in a unitary construction, with a smooth and continuous exterior about the elongated opening, with the eyelet being free from moving parts.

A soft tissue augmentation device, comprising:

• a driver having a shaft extending therefrom;
• a handle connecting to the shaft;
• an eyelet removably positioned at the end of the shaft;
• and
• an anchor, rotatable by the driver, positioned along the shaft, adjacent the eyelet, the anchor having a helical thread;
• wherein:
• the eyelet includes a mounting end formed as a hollow tubular member, the mounting end having a first width;
• the hollow tubular member having a single slit extending inward along the hollow tubular member, with an increased diameter portion at an internal end thereof;
• the slit and the hollow tubular member operable to receive an end of the shaft of the driver;
• the slit operable to permit removal of the eyelet from the shaft of the driver;
• the anchor having an inside diameter larger than the first width of the mounting end of the eyelet to permit the mounting end to fit inside the anchor;
• and
• the eyelet having a lip at a distal end of the hollow tubular member, the lip increasing a diameter of the eyelet to a second diameter, the second diameter being greater than the inside diameter of the anchor to prevent the eyelet from moving through the anchor, the lip having a lip planar surface that abuts an anchor planar end surface of the anchor when the anchor is positioned on the shaft adjacent the eyelet.