Patent ID: 7875057

Claim:
A method to stabilize a cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifle, comprising: drilling a femoral hole across a distal femur by entering the femur cranial and distal to a lateral fabella and exiting a distal diaphysis of the femur; passing a needle with a pull-through suture strand of a suture-button construct through the femoral hole, and applying a tensile force to the pull-through suture strand and a suture tape such that a first button of the suture-button construct lies sideways for passage through the femoral hole; advancing the first button through the femoral hole by pulling the pull-through suture strand until the first button exits the femoral hole; drilling a tibial hole in a tibia by entering the tibia from proximal to a cranial tibial muscle head and immediately distal and/or caudal to the tubercle of Gerdy and exiting the tibia on a medial side; passing the needle with the pull-through suture strand through the tibial hole and applying a tensile force to the suture tape and the pull-through suture strand such that the first button lies sideways for passage through the tibial hole; flipping the first button to engage the first button against the medial tibial cortex, and subsequently cutting and removing the pull-through suture strand; pulling free ends of the suture tape to advance a second button of the suture-button construct and to seat the second button against the femur; and securing the second button against the femur.