Patent ID: 8460169

Claim:
A system for providing support to body tissue to alleviate incontinence, comprising: an elongated incontinence sling having a central support portion adapted to be positioned to support any one of the urethra or anus, the elongated incontinence sling having first and second sling end portions extending from the central support portion through body tissue; a tension adjustment mechanism acting on or within one or both of the sling end portions, wherein the tension adjustment mechanism is attached to and extends through an adjustment spacing intermediate the first sling end portion and the central support portion and includes a drive mechanism provided in a housing and having a rack device, the rack device having a plurality of teeth and a non-rotating catch engageable with the plurality of teeth, with an external portion of the rack extending out of the housing and operatively connected to the first sling end portion; wherein the non-rotating catch is a pivotable non-rotating catch that engages with the plurality of teeth in response to linear movement of the plurality of teeth; and an external adjustment actuator that operatively engages with the tension adjustment mechanism and selectively changes the adjustment spacing such that extension of the external portion of the rack out of the housing lengthens the adjustment spacing and withdrawing the external portion of the rack into the housing shortens the adjustment spacing to thereby change tension in the central support portion applied to the urethra or anus.