Patent ID: 7163540

Claim:
A surgical anchor comprising: a threaded anchor body having a long axis and an outer dimension; a head at a first end of the anchor body adapted to accommodate a tool for securing or driving the anchor body into the bone of a patient, said head having an outer dimension that is greater than the outer dimension of said anchor body so said head is adapted to rest on the surface of the patient's bone when said anchor body is engaged in the bone and is located above the patient's bone when the anchor body is engaged in the bone, said head further including a first outer surface oriented to extend in the direction of the surface of the bone of the patient and a second outer surface that is oriented to extend in the direction of the surface of the bone of the patient, with the first outer surface abutting the surface of the patient's bone when the anchor body is in place and being located closer to the surface of the patient's bone than the second outer surface; and at least two suture passages extending through said head for receiving sutures, each passage having a longitudinal axis that is oriented at an oblique angle to the long axis of said anchor body and at an oblique angle to a plane containing the first outer surface of the head, the suture passages being oriented so that an extension of the longitudinal axis of each suture passage will not intersect the long axis of said threaded body, each of said suture passages having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion of each suture passage being located near the surface of the patient's bone and the second portion of each suture passage being located spaced apart from and above the surface of the patient's bone and each suture passage being located above the surface of the patient's bone when said anchor body is engaged in the patient's bone.