Patent ID: 7604659

Claim:
An orthopedic fastener for repair of torn rotator cuff tendons by securing the tendons to a bone, said orthopedic fastener comprising: a screw body having a shaft, said shaft having a tip and a head at opposite ends of the shaft, a circular O-ring surrounding the shaft and located adjacent to the head, said O-ring moving with the head, and a plurality of vanes, each vane having two ends, one end of said two ends of each of said plurality of vanes being pivotally mounted on said O-ring, the other of said two ends of each of said plurality of vanes being completely free to move freely away from a plane of a longitudinal axis of the screw body and said free end being located adjacent to the tip of the screw body in a retracted position, and said O-ring being movable through a cannula with the screw body for penetration of the screw body into bone, said plurality of vanes extending in said retracted position between said head and said tip and along the shaft of said screw body for passage through a cannula, said plurality of vanes being movable to an extended position extending substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the screw body for engaging and gripping of tendons to press the tendons against the bone while simultaneously the shaft is rotated into the bone as the screw body and the O-ring emerge from the cannula, each of said vanes being curved along an axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of each of the vanes.