TRANSOSSEOUS SUTURE CONSTRUCTS

1 . A method of transosseous fixation of soft tissue to bone comprising:

forming a first tunnel through the bone, the first tunnel having first and second spaced apart openings at an outer surface of the bone;

forming a second tunnel intersecting the first tunnel, the second tunnel having a third opening at an outer surface of the bone;

extending a first suture between the first and second openings, the first suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the second opening;

extending a second suture between the first and third openings, the second suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the third opening;

passing the second portion of each of the first and second sutures through soft tissue to form a simple stitch; and

securing the first portion of each of the first and second sutures and the second portion of each of the first and second sutures.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein securing the first portion of each of the first and second sutures and the second portion of each of the first and second sutures comprises securing the sutures together adjacent the first opening.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein securing the sutures comprises securing the sutures within the first tunnel.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first opening is on a lateral surface of a humerus and the second and third openings are on a more medial and superior surface of the humerus, further wherein passing the second portion of each of the first and second sutures through the soft tissue comprises passing the sutures inferior to superior through rotator cuff tissue, the method further comprising tensioning the suture limbs to move the rotator cuff tissue to a desired attachment location on the humerus.

5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising tying the second portion of each of the first and second sutures together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step.

6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising:

forming a portal extending from a location outside of a patient's body to a surgical site adjacent the bone and soft tissue;

tying the second portion of each of the first and second sutures together to form a knot outside of the patient's body; and

pulling the first portion of at least one of the first and second sutures to move the knot through the portal to the surgical site.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

forming a third tunnel intersecting the first tunnel, the third tunnel having a fourth opening at an outer surface of the bone;

extending a third suture between the first and fourth openings, the third suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the fourth opening;

passing the second portion of the third suture through the soft tissue to form a simple stitch; and

securing the first and second portions of the third suture.

8 . The method of claim 7 further comprising:

forming a fourth tunnel intersecting the first tunnel, the fourth tunnel having a fifth opening at an outer surface of the bone;

extending a fourth suture between the first and fifth openings, the fourth suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the fifth opening;

passing the second portion the fourth suture through the soft tissue to form a simple stitch; and

securing the first and second portions of the fourth suture.

9 . A method of transosseous fixation of soft tissue to bone comprising:

forming a first tunnel through the bone, the first tunnel having first and second spaced apart openings at an outer surface of the bone;

forming a second tunnel intersecting the first tunnel, the second tunnel having a third opening at an outer surface of the bone;

forming a third tunnel through the bone, the third tunnel having fourth and fifth spaced apart openings at an outer surface of the bone;

forming a fourth tunnel intersecting the third tunnel, the fourth tunnel having a sixth opening at an outer surface of the bone;

extending a first suture between the first and second openings, the first suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the second opening;

extending a second suture between the first and third openings, the second suture having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the third opening;

extending a third suture between the fourth and fifth openings, the third suture having a first portion extending from the fourth opening and a second portion extending from the fifth opening;

extending a fourth suture between the fourth and sixth openings, the fourth suture having a first portion extending from the fourth opening and a second portion extending from the sixth opening;

passing the second portion of each of the first, second, third and fourth sutures through soft tissue to form a simple stitch; and

securing the first and second portions of each of the sutures.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein the second portions of the second and third sutures are crossed on top of the soft tissue.

11 . The method of claim 9 wherein the second, third, fifth, and sixth openings form a row on the bone with the fifth opening between the second and third openings and the third opening between the fifth and sixth opening.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the second portions of the second and third sutures are crossed on top of the soft tissue.

13 . The method of claim 9 further comprising:

forming a portal extending from a location outside of a patient's body to a surgical site adjacent the bone and soft tissue;

tying at least two of the second portions together to form a knot outside of the patient's body; and

pulling at least one of the first portions to move the knot through the portal to the surgical site.

14 . A method of transosseous fixation of soft tissue to bone comprising:

forming a first tunnel through the bone, the first tunnel having first and second spaced apart openings at an outer surface of the bone;

forming a second tunnel intersecting the first tunnel, the second tunnel having a third opening at an outer surface of the bone;

extending first and second sutures between the first and second openings, the first and second sutures each having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the second opening;

extending third and fourth sutures between the first and third openings, the third and fourth sutures each having a first portion extending from the first opening and a second portion extending from the third opening;

passing the second portion of each of the first, second, third and fourth sutures through soft tissue to form a simple stitch; and

securing the first and second portions of each of the sutures.

15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

tying at least two of the second portions together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step.

16 . The method of claim 14 wherein the second portions are passed through the soft tissue to form a row of four spaced apart piercing locations, the first piercing location in the row corresponding to the first suture, the next piercing location corresponding to the second suture, the next piercing location corresponding to the third suture, and the next piercing location corresponding to the fourth suture, the method further comprising:

tying the second portion of each of the first and second sutures together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step; and

tying the second portion of each of the third and fourth sutures together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step.

17 . The method of claim 14 wherein the second portions are passed through the soft tissue to form a row of four spaced apart piercing locations, the first piercing location in the row corresponding to the first suture, the next piercing location corresponding to the second suture, the next piercing location corresponding to the third suture, and the next piercing location corresponding to the fourth suture, the method further comprising:

tying the second portion of each of the first and third sutures together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step; and

tying the second portion of each of the second and fourth sutures together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step.

18 . The method of claim 14 wherein the second portions of the first and second sutures are passed through the soft tissue together at a first location and the second portions of the third and fourth sutures are passed through the soft tissue together at a second location spaced from the first location, the second portions of each of the second and third sutures being tied together to form a mattress stitch prior to the securing step.

19 . The method of claim 18 further comprising forming a portal extending from a location outside of a patient's body to a surgical site adjacent the bone and soft tissue, wherein tying the second portion of each of the second and third sutures together to form a mattress stitch comprises tying the second portion of each of the second and third sutures together to form a knot outside of the patient's body, the method further comprising pulling the first portion of each of the second and third sutures to move the knot through the portal to the surgical site.

20 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

forming a portal extending from a location outside of a patient's body to a surgical site adjacent the bone and soft tissue;

tying at least two of the second portions together to form a knot outside of the patient's body; and

pulling at least one of the first portions to move the knot through the portal to the surgical site.