Soft Tissue Repair Assembly And Associated Method

A soft tissue repair device comprising:

• a first deformable anchor defining an internal longitudinal bore and having first and second ends;
• a first strand loop passing at least partially through the longitudinal bore of the first deformable anchor and having first and second loop ends extending outside the bore of the first deformable anchor;
• a first tubular conduit for vascularization including an outer surface, a longitudinal inner bore extending between first and second open ends of the first tubular conduit and a plurality of perforations extending from the inner bore through the outer surface of the first tubular conduit;
• and
• a flexible strand having first and second strand ends and coupled to the first and second loop ends of the first strand loop, the flexible strand extending substantially outside the first deformable anchor, the flexible strand passing through the inner bore of the first tubular conduit, such that pulling at least one of the first and second strand ends deforms the first deformable anchor from a first shape suitable for insertion through soft tissue to a second shape suitable for securely lodging the soft tissue repair device relative to the soft tissue.

A soft tissue repair device comprising:

• a first deformable anchor defining an internal longitudinal bore and having first and second ends;
• a first strand loop passing at least partially through the longitudinal bore of the first deformable anchor and having first and second loop ends extending outside the bore of the first deformable anchor;
• a second deformable anchor defining an internal longitudinal bore and having first and second ends;
• a second strand loop passing at least partially through the longitudinal bore of the second deformable anchor and having first and second loop ends extending outside the bore of the second deformable anchor;
• a first tubular conduit for vascularization including an outer surface and a longitudinal inner bore extending between first and second open ends of the first tubular conduit;
• a second tubular conduit for vascularization including an outer surface and a longitudinal inner bore extending between first and second open ends of the tubular conduit;
• and
• a flexible strand having first and second strand ends, the flexible strand passing a first time through the inner bore of the first tubular conduit, passing through the first and second loop ends of the first strand loop, passing a second time through the inner bore of the first tubular conduit, passing a first time through the inner bore of the second tubular conduit, passing through the first and second loop ends of the second strand loop and passing a second time through the inner bore of the second tubular conduit, such that pulling at least one of the first and second strand ends deforms the first and second deformable anchors from a first shape suitable for insertion through soft tissue to a second shape suitable for securely lodging the soft tissue repair device relative to the soft tissue.

A soft tissue repair device comprising:

• a first deformable anchor defining an internal longitudinal bore and having first and second ends;
• a first strand loop passing at least partially through the longitudinal bore of the first deformable anchor and having first and second loop ends extending outside the bore of the first deformable anchor;
• a second deformable anchor defining an internal longitudinal bore and having first and second ends;
• a second strand loop passing at least partially through the longitudinal bore of the second deformable anchor and having first and second loop ends extending outside the bore of the second deformable anchor;
• a tubular conduit for vascularization, the tubular conduit including an outer surface and a longitudinal inner bore extending between first and second open ends of the tubular conduit;
• and
• a flexible strand having first and second strand ends, the flexible strand passing a first time through the inner bore of the tubular conduit, passing through the first and second loop ends of the first strand loop, passing a second time through the inner bore of the tubular conduit and passing through the first and second loop ends of the second strand loop, such that pulling at least one of the first and second strand ends deforms the first and second deformable anchors from a first shape suitable for insertion through soft tissue to a second shape suitable for securely lodging the soft tissue repair device relative to the soft tissue.

A method for repairing a tear in a meniscus during arthroscopic knee procedure, the method comprising:

• inserting an inserter through the tear to an outer surface of the meniscus;
• deploying a first tubular conduit for vascularization from the inserter through the tear, such the first tubular conduit spans the tear;
• deploying a first deformable anchor from the inserter on an outer surface of the meniscus, the first deformable anchor coupled to a flexible strand that passes through the first tubular conduit ;
• tensioning the strand;
• changing the shape of the first deformable anchor from a first shape to a second shape for securing the first deformable anchor on the outer surface;
• and
• reducing or closing the tear.