Patent ID: 8246652

Claim:
A tissue connector comprising: an elongated body with a generally circular cross-section and being flexible and substantially nonresilient, the elongated body having a first end, a second end, a periphery, and a plurality of barbs extending from said periphery of the elongated body, wherein said barbs comprise a first side forming an obtuse angle with the elongated body and a second side forming an acute angle with the elongated body, said barbs having a constant proportion as they extend along a portion of said body, where the first side of said barbs face the first end of the elongated body, the barbs being configured such that the barbs are yieldable in a direction toward the elongated body when the tissue connector is moved through tissue in a direction of the first end, and are generally rigid when the tissue connector is moved in an opposite direction toward the second end; and wherein a barb is located at each of a plurality of axial locations of said body, a first side of each barb facing said first end, and barbs are about equally and uniformly circumferentially spaced about the periphery of the body in a helical pattern and are oriented in the same direction, and said first end including a pointed end and being sufficiently hard to pierce tissue, and said second end including a head.