Patent ID: 7247164

Claim:
A method for performing shoulder surgery to attach rotator cuff tissue to an adjacent bone at a target position, said method comprising: creating an opening in the shoulder to view and or access soft tissue therein; manipulating the torn rotator cuff tissue across the surface of the humeral head; suturing said tissue to obtain at least one free suture end; providing a bone anchor comprising a first component, said first component comprising an elongate shaft and a distal end, and a suture retaining channel at said distal end; engaging at least one free end of said suture in said suture retaining channel; deploying said bone anchor in a bone tunnel wherein deploying is performed after suturing; tensioning said suture to move said tissue to said target position; and locking said bone anchor to prevent said suture from loosening wherein said locking is performed after said tensioning step and wherein said locking step does not further move the tissue from said target position and wherein said locking immobilizes said first anchor component such that the first anchor component is prevented from floating or otherwise moving in the bone tunnel.