Rectilinear anchor for soft tissue fixation

A bone anchor assembly for attaching suture material to bone tissue comprising:

• a hollow anchor body having a rectilinearly bounded transverse cross-section with a maximum diagonal dimension corresponding substantially to the diameter of a predrilled bone tunnel, said anchor body having at least one inwardly extending solid wedge member formed along at least one longitudinal side, wherein said at least one wedge member is resiliently attached to said anchor body by a hinge along the transverse distal end of said wedge member, said at least one wedge member having a bone-tissue engaging sharp proximal edge;
• a plug configured to fit slidingly within said hollow anchor body having an outer surface contoured to selectively receive said at least one inwardly extending wedge member in a first inwardly projecting position whereby said tissue-engaging sharp proximal edge is retracted within the perimeter of said anchor body, and in a second inwardly projecting position whereby bone tissue is engaged by said at least one sharp proximal edge;
• and
• means for positioning said assembly in a predrilled bone tunnel and selectively displacing said plug within said anchor body to urge said at least one sharp proximal edge into bone tissue engagement with said bone tunnel.

A bone anchor assembly for attaching suture material to bone tissue comprising:

• an anchor body having a rectilinearly bounded transverse cross-section with a maximum diagonal dimension corresponding substantially to the diameter of a predrilled bone tunnel, said anchor body having two longitudinal sides in a generally U-shaped configuration open on the distal end, having a longitudinal through passage defined in said distal end, said sides having outwardly directed bone tissue engaging sharp points formed in the distal ends and being resiliently biased inward to retract said points within the perimeter of said anchor body;
• and
• a plug configured to fit slidingly between said longitudinal sides having an outer surface contoured to selectively receive said inwardly biased distal ends in said retracted position, said plug outer surface also being contoured to selectively urge said distal ends outward to engage bone tissue, said plug outer surface and said anchor body sides inner surfaces having transverse ribs to provide ratcheting mutual interaction during relative motion of said surfaces, said plug having a slot for engaging suture material defined transversely across said plug distal end;
• and
• means for positioning said assembly in a predrilled bone tunnel and selectively displacing said plug within said anchor body to urge said distal end sharp points into bone tissue engagement with said bone tunnel.

A method for anchoring suture material to bone tissue comprising the steps of:

• (a) drilling a cylindrical tunnel into the bone at the point of desired attachment;
• (b) passing a length of suture material around the distal end of a bone anchor having a rectilinearly bounded transverse cross-section defined by straight longitudinal anchor assembly sides and corresponding in maximum transverse diagonal dimension to the diameter of said cylindrical tunnel, said suture material passing through a slot transversely defined across the distal end of said anchor and extending proximally along two of said straight anchor sides;
• (c) inserting said anchor into said tunnel, said straight longitudinal anchor assembly sides providing clearance space for passage of said suture material between said anchor and the sidewall of said tunnel;
• and
• (d) urging inwardly biased at least one barb formed along said anchor sides outwardly, driving sharp points formed on the distal ends of said at least one barb into bone tissue engaging contact with said tunnel sidewall.

A method for anchoring suture material to bone tissue comprising the steps of:

• (a) drilling a cylindrical tunnel into the bone at the point of desired contact;
• (b) passing a length of suture material around the distal end of a plug;
• (c) inserting a plug into a hollow bone anchor body having a rectilinearly bounded transverse cross-section corresponding in maximum dimension to the diameter of said cylindrical tunnel, said plug being configured to fit slidingly within said anchor and having sides contoured to selectively allow inwardly biased barbs formed on the sides of said anchor body to retract into said body in a first position and to urge said barbs outwardly into bone tissue engaging contact with said bone tunnel sidewall in a second position;
• (d) positioning said plug in said first position;
• (e) passing a length of suture material around the distal end of said plug through a slot formed transversely across the distal end of said plug;
• (f) inserting said anchor body and plug into said bone tunnel, said suture material passing freely along the clearance space created between said anchor body rectilinear cross-section and said bone tunnel;
• and
• (g) proximally urging said plug into said second position to set said barbs into said bone tunnel sidewall by proximally tensioning said suture material.