Patent ID: 7144424

Claim:
A method for reconstructing a ligament, the method comprising: creating a bone tunnel within a host bone, the bone tunnel having a proximal end and a distal end, and defining a central axis extending from the proximal end to the distal end; incompletely breaking away a wedge-shaped layer of bone from the rigid portion of the host bone surrounding the bone tunnel so as to hinge inwardly toward the central axis of the bone tunnel to create an intervening layer of bone between the central axis of the bone tunnel and a rigid portion of the host bone, the intervening layer having a first side and a second side in opposition to one another, the first side of the intervening layer facing toward the central axis of the bone tunnel and the second side of the intervening layer facing toward the rigid portion of the host bone; and compressing the intervening layer of bone against a graft ligament positioned within the bone tunnel.