Soft tissue repair
AssigneeSmith & Nephew, Inc.
InventorsT. Wade Fallin, M. Mary Sinnott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and instruments for repairing soft tissues of a skeletal joint, such as, for example, of the foot or hand are presented. Disclosed techniques include techniques for the repair of a palmar plate of a hand or foot, including advancing a foot of a suture passer through, or adjacent to, a joint space and advanced into a flexor tendon sheath a distance to produce an amount of suture purchase on a plantar/palmar plate. The foot of the suture passer can also be moved medially or laterally away from a joint midline but still within the flexor tendon sheath to further locate stitches. The sutures can then be secured to restore the function of the plantar/palmar plate.
Claims20
A method of repairing soft tissue of a joint of a human extremity, the joint including a metapodial bone and a proximal phalanx, the extremity having volar and dorsal aspects, the method comprising:
- maintaining the metapodial bone intact;
- inserting a portion of a suture into a suture hole at a distal facing surface of a distal portion of a suture passing instrument;
- extending a piece of the suture from the suture hole, across an eye in a proximal facing surface of the distal portion, and over a distal end of the distal portion, the proximal facing surface and the distal facing surface being positioned on opposite sides of the distal portion;
- inserting the distal portion of the suture passing instrument into a space adjacent the metapodial and phalangeal bones;
- supporting at least a length of a portion of the soft tissue to be repaired against the proximal facing surface of the distal portion of the suture passing instrument;
- intercepting, by a needle, a bight of the piece of the suture that extends across an inlet of the eye in the proximal facing surface of the distal portion, the inlet being adjacent to the supported soft tissue;
- and
- moving the needle of the suture passing instrument to pass the suture through the supported soft tissue to be repaired, and wherein the soft tissue to be repaired comprises a volar ligament.
A method of repairing soft tissue of a joint of a human extremity, the joint including a metapodial bone and a proximal phalanx, the extremity having volar and dorsal aspects, the method comprising:
- maintaining the metapodial bone intact;
- inserting a portion of a suture into a suture hole at a distal facing surface of a distal portion of a suture passing instrument;
- extending a piece of the suture from the suture hole, across an eye in a proximal facing surface of the distal portion, and over a distal end of the distal portion, the proximal facing surface and the distal facing surface being positioned on opposite sides of the distal portion;
- positioning the proximal facing surface of the distal portion of a support structure of the suture passing instrument against a length of one side of the soft tissue, the suture passing instrument comprising a housing defining a linear motion axis extending proximally to distally, a needle mounted for translation along the motion axis between a first proximal position and a second distal position, and the distal portion, the proximal facing surface extending along a distal portion axis crossing the motion axis, the eye being aligned with the motion axis to receive at least a portion of the needle when the needle is in the second position;
- supporting the soft tissue along a length of the proximal facing surface of the support structure;
- extending the needle through the supported soft tissue and into the eye in the distal portion;
- intercepting, by the needle, a bight of the piece of the suture that extends across a portion of the eye, the bight of the suture extending across the eye at an angle that is non-parallel to a central axis of the eye;
- and
- retracting the needle to retrieve the bight of the suture through the soft tissue, and wherein the soft tissue to be repaired comprises a volar ligament.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.