Patent ID: 6287324
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A device for anchoring a surgical suture to a solid tissue, the device being attachable to an external rotational drive, the device comprising:(a) a self-drilling body having a point of attachment for surgical suture, said self-drilling body being configured for penetrating both soft tissue and solid tissue, and said body defining an effective drilling diameter;(b) an assembly including at least one flexible locking element said assembly capable of assuming both an open configuration wider than said effective drilling diameter and a closed configuration at least as narrow as said effective drilling diameter, said at least one flexible locking element being attached to or integrally formed with said self-drilling body; and(c) the device being configured so that said assembly including at least one flexible locking element in said closed configuration is releasably engageable by the external rotational drive;wherein said self drilling body is rotationally insertable into a surface without prior drilling of a hole in said surface;wherein said assembly including at least one flexible locking element automatically assumes an open state substantially wider than said effective drilling diameter when said external rotational drive is detached after drilling, thereby anchoring said device in said solid tissue.