Patent ID: 6059817
Filing Date: 2000-05-09
Classification: A61B,A61F,B29C,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of positioning an article in a patient while the patient is in an operating room, said method comprising the steps of heating thermoplastic material of a suture anchor into a transition temperature range which is below a melting temperature of the thermoplastic material, said step of heating the thermoplastic material being performed in the operating room, changing the shape of the suture anchor while the thermoplastic material of the suture anchor is at a temperature in the transition range of the thermoplastic material, said step of changing the shape of the suture anchor being performed while the suture anchor is in the operating room, positioning the suture anchor relative to a suture which engages the patient's body tissue, and cooling the thermoplastic material of the suture anchor to a temperature below the transition temperature of the thermoplastic material of the suture anchor.