Patent ID: 7427284

Claim:
A method for the repair of damaged tissue present at or on the surface of bone in an animal, including a human being, the method comprising: forming a narrow groove around at least part of said damaged tissue using a cutting device having a toothed cutting edge; the groove extending below the damaged tissue into the bone to a depth that is a multiple of the thickness of the damaged tissue; removing the damaged tissue within the region defined by the groove to form a cavity in the tissue present on the surface of the bone, the narrow groove extending from the cavity into the bone; protecting healthy tissue surrounding the region of the groove during the step of removing damaged tissue using guard means; inserting a bio-compatible non-woven pad in the cavity from where the damaged tissue has been removed, the pad configured to encourage cell in-growth at the repair site; retaining the pad in the cavity using a thin netting/mesh sheet material extending from the pad and into the groove; anchoring the sheet material and the pad in position by pushing the sheet material into the groove to a depth into the bone underlying the cavity from which the damaged tissue has been removed using a pusher tool; and removing the pusher tool from the groove to leave the sheet material jammed into the groove.