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US 2003/0191360 A1Published application
Apparatus and method for treating female urinary incontinence
AssigneeGyneideas, Limited
InventorJames Browning
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AssigneeGyneideas, Limited
InventorJames Browning
Estimating the term…
The present invention provides a surgical implant and method for supporting the urethra (118), the implant comprising: a suburethral support (10) suspended between two soft tissue anchors (30) that do not penetrate the lower abdominal wall and are attached at either side of the suburethral support (10). The soft tissue anchors (30) retain each anchor in soft tissue, suspending each side of the suburethral support (10). The suburethral support (10) passes under the urethra (118) to support the urethra (118). The implant has uses including treating urinary incontinence and uterovaginal prolapse.
A surgical implant for supporting the urethra, the implant comprising:
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the soft tissue anchor is comprised of plastics material.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the soft tissue anchor is comprised of polypropylene.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the soft tissue anchor is integral with the suspending means.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the suburethral support is comprised of flat polymer tape.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the suburethral support has dimensions of length 15-35 mm, width 5-15 mm and thickness 50-350 μm.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the length of the suspending means is adjustable.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the suspending means comprise a plastics strip, 3-5 mm in width.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the suspending means comprises a plastics material which comprises pores which extend through the plastics material from a first surface of the plastics material to a second opposite surface of the plastics material said pores ranging in width across the surface of the plastics material from 50 μm to 200 μm.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plastics material which comprises the suspending means comprises pits, that indent but do not extend through the plastics material, on at least one of the surfaces of the plastics material, the pits ranging in width from 50 μm to 200 μm.
A surgical implant as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the suspending means is provided with a plurality of microgrooves of width between 0.5-7 μm and of depth 0.25-7 μm on at least one surface of the plastics strip.
A method of supporting the urethra comprising the steps of, introducing a surgical implant in any of the preceding claims into an incision made on the upper wall of the vagina, inserting a soft tissue anchor on a first side of the urethra behind the pubic bone, inserting a second soft tissue anchor on a second side of the urethra behind the pubic bone, such that the suburethral support is suspended from the soft tissue anchor and supports the urethra.
A soft tissue anchor comprising a central portion and retaining means wherein the retaining means includes a plurality of projections, the projections extending radially from the central portion along a substantial portion of the length of the central portion allowing fixation of the anchor at a plurality of layers.
Use of a plastics material as claimed herein in implants to encourage cell through growth or ingrowth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Implantable: support slings
For suturing wounds; Holders or packages for needles or suture materials: suture anchors, buttons or pledgets, i.e. means for attaching sutures to…
Needles, e.g. needle tip configurations: big needles, either gripped by hand or connectable to a handle
Filters implantable into blood vessels; Prostheses, i.e. artificial substitutes or replacements for parts of the body; Appliances for connecting…:…
Term end not estimated
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for treating female urinary incontinence and, in particular, to a surgical implant having a sling that passes under the urethra in use and supports the urethra to alleviate incontinence, along with related apparatus and methods for inserting the surgical implant in the body.
Urinary incontinence affects a large number of women and, consequently, various approaches have been developed to treat female urinary incontinence. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with approaches ranging from pelvic floor exercises to surgical techniques such as Burch colposuspension and Stamey-type endoscopic procedures in which the sutures are placed so as to elevate the bladder neck.
This invention is particularly directed to improvement of a known procedure in which a sling is positioned loosely under the urethra, commonly known as TVT (tension free vaginal tape) and described, for example, in International Patent Applications No. WO97/13465 and WO97/06567. It is generally understood that this treatment alleviates urinary incontinence by occluding the mid-urethra (for example at a time of raised abdominal pressure by coughing or the like).
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a surgical implant according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a line drawing of the suspending means attached to the suburethral support, positioned underneath the urethra,
Referring to FIG. 1, a surgical implant for treating female urinary incontinence has a suburethral support 10, suspending means 20 and at least two soft tissue anchors 30, the suburethral support 10 being positioned in use, loosely under the urethra. The suburethral support has a length L of around 25 mm and a width W of around 10 mm such that it passes around the urethra with a minimum of excess material, although other similar dimensions would also be suitable. In this example, the suburethral support 10 is made from flat polymer tape. At each side 11,13 of the suburethral support 10 suspending means 20 are provided which attach to the suburethral support 10 at a first end 22,24.
The suspending means 20 are attached at a second end 26 to a respective soft tissue anchor 30.
As shown in FIG. 7 the soft tissue anchor 30 of the embodiment described comprises a central portion 32 and four winged sections 34 which are attached to the central portion at a first end 38 by resilient hinge means 36 and radially extend from the central portion 32 such that when viewed from the front the anchor device resembles a cross.