Suture retention devices and associated products and methods
AssigneeCook Medical Technologies LLC
InventorsJames Taylor, Benjamin Fisher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A suture retention device includes a stack of suture engaging members which can be provided by coils or other segments of a spring. A suture engages with the stack so as to permit travel of the retention device along the suture in one direction more facilely than travel along the suture in the other direction. The retention device can include a housing that encloses the spring or other stack structure, and the suture can pass from a first hole in the housing, through the suture engaging members, and to a second hole in the housing. A suture anchor can be attached to the suture, and the resulting assembly can be combined with a needle designed to introduce the anchor and suture into patient tissue, e.g. in the conduct of a gastropexy procedure.
Claims27
A surgical tether retention device, comprising:
- a housing having a first end and a second end, the first end defining a first end wall surface configured for receipt against an external patient surface and a first end wall opening;
- a tether engaging stack structure retained by the housing, the stack structure including at least first and second adjacent stack members;
- a surgical tether having a housed tether portion extending through the housing in a path from the first end wall opening to a second opening spaced from the first end wall opening;
- the surgical tether having a first external tether portion, the first external tether portion extending out of the first end wall opening in a first direction external of the housing;
- the surgical tether having a second external tether portion, the second external tether portion extending out of the second opening in a second direction different from the first direction and external of the housing;
- wherein the housed tether portion includes at least one tether segment received between the first stack member and the second stack member;
- wherein the housed tether portion is further cooperatively associated with the tether engaging stack so as to urge the first and second stack members away from one another when the housing is urged along the surgical tether in the first direction and to urge the first and second stack members toward one another when the housing is urged along the surgical tether in the second direction;
- and
- wherein the stack structure comprises a coil spring, and wherein the first and second stack members are first and second coils of the coil spring.
A medical device, comprising:
- an elongate surgical tether;
- a tether engaging stack structure including at least first and second adjacent stack members, the tether engaging stack structure cooperatively associated with the elongate surgical tether so as to compressively engage and retain the position of the tether relative to the stack when the tether is forced in a first direction relative to the stack but to allow travel of the suture through the stack when the tether is forced in a second direction relative to the stack;
- wherein in the absence of force exerted on the stack structure the first and second adjacent stack members apply a clamping force on a segment of the tether;
- wherein when the tether is forced in said second direction said clamping force is reduced or eliminated;
- and wherein the tether engaging structure comprises a spring providing the at least first and second adjacent stack members.
A device for securing a surgical tether, comprising:
- (i) a surgical tether;
- (ii) an anchoring element attached to the surgical tether;
- and
- (iii) a tether retention device received on the surgical tether, the tether retention device comprising:
- a spring having a plurality of spring segments, the plurality of spring segments including at least first and second spring segments adjacent to one another and at least a third spring segment;
- and
- a housing retaining the spring, the housing having a first wall portion defining a first opening and a second wall portion defining a second opening;
- wherein the surgical tether passes through the housing of the tether retention device from the first opening to the second opening thereby providing a housed tether segment within the housing, and wherein the housed tether segment is received between the first and second spring segments and looped at least one time around the third spring segment;
- and
- wherein the surgical tether is engaged by the spring such that the suture retention device selectively resists travel along the surgical tether in a second direction relative to a first direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.