Patent ID: 7862583

Claim:
A fusible suture for joining portions of tissue comprising: an elongate electrical conductor extending between opposite ends, said conductor having sufficient flexibility to permit segments of said conductor to overlap thereby forming a loop sized for joining portions of tissue, said overlapping segments of the conductor being heated upon application of an electrical current to the conductor; and a coating at least partially covering the conductor and extending over at least one of said segments of the conductor, said coating softening when its temperature is at and above a softening temperature so that the overlapping segments of the coating coalesce and returning to a non-softened state when its temperature falls below a hardening temperature thereby to form a bond between the overlapping segments of the conductor, said softening temperature being lower than a melting temperature of the conductor; and wherein the conductor includes an inner conductor portion having an outer surface, an outer conductor portion concentrically positioned outside the outer surface of the inner conductor portion, and a flexible jacket positioned between the inner and outer conductor portions.