Soft tissue repair system

A method of repairing a tear in soft tissue, comprising:

• nonthreadedly inserting an elongated stent to bridge between opposite sides of a soft tissue tear, the stent having a proximal end defining an enlarged head and a nonthreaded elongated shank defining a distal tip, the shank defining a surface adapted to include a plurality of recesses to receive an adhesive at least on a distal portion of the shank, the stent being inserted such that the enlarged head engages the soft tissue in proximity to one side of the tear;
• applying an adhesive to at least a longitudinal distal portion of the shank, the stent and adhesive holding the soft tissue on each side of the tear together during healing of the tear, in which the shank defines an internal passage extending generally longitudinally through the shank and a plurality of holes communicating between the passage and the plurality of recesses on an exterior surface of the shank;
• and
• flowing the applied adhesive through the passage and the holes into the recesses in the exterior surface of the shank.

A method of repairing a tear in soft tissue, comprising:

• inserting an elongated stent to bridge between opposite sides of a soft tissue tear, in which the stent includes an elongated shank and the elongated shank defines an internal passage extending generally longitudinally through the shank and a plurality of holes communicating between the passage and a plurality of recesses defined in an exterior of the shank;
• applying an adhesive into the passage;
• and
• flowing the applied adhesive through the passage and the holes into the recesses in the exterior of the shank to hold the stent within the soft tissue during healing of the tear.