Patent ID: 7497864

Claim:
A tissue fastening system for coupling first and second tissue sections, the system comprising: a hook fastener having a tissue contacting side for contacting the first tissue section and a fastening side, positioned opposite said hook fastener tissue contacting side, with a plurality of hooks; a loop fastener having a tissue contacting side for contacting the second tissue section and a fastening side, positioned opposite said loop fastener tissue contacting side, with a plurality of loops; a suture being free of knots for engaging the first and second tissue sections to maintain the first and second tissue sections in a predetermined relationship; said plurality of hooks engaging said plurality of loops with a portion of said suture being held therebetween to sandwich and secure said suture relative to the first and second tissue; and an anchoring member for securing at least one of the hook and loop fasteners to tissue, wherein: the hook and loop fasteners are at least partially made of a biodegradable material; the plurality of hooks engage the plurality of loops to couple the first and second tissue sections; at least one of the hook and loop fasteners has an anchoring hole for receiving the anchoring member to thereby secure the at least one of the hook and loop fasteners to tissue, the anchoring member being made of a biodegradable material and selected from the group consisting of a staple, a rivet, and a suture; and at least a portion of one of the hook fastener tissue contacting portion and the loop fastener tissue contacting portion has a porous surface including a plurality of pores, each having a size of about 0.1 microns to 1000 microns, allowing soft tissue ingrowth to thereby secure the fastener to soft tissue.