Methods for whip-stitching tissue and tissue constructs formed thereby
Methods for whip-stitching soft tissue with a needle and a looped suture avoid placing the tissue graft through the suture loop, which also eliminates the need for passing a tissue clamp through the suture loop. The methods described herein can also include combinations of the techniques described.
1. A method of stitching a soft tissue graft comprising:
placing a suture loop/needle construct in the vicinity of a graft, the graft having a proximal end and a distal end;
passing the suture loop/needle construct through or around the graft at a first location such that the graft does not extend through the suture loop to form a first stitch;
passing the suture loop/needle construct through or around the graft tendon at a second location such that the graft does not extend through the suture loop to form a second stitch, the second location being different from the first location; and
repeating the above stitching method until a stitched portion with a desired stitching length is obtained on the graft;
wherein the graft is a single strand of unfolded tissue.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the needle is attached to the suture loop such that the needle does not move relative to the suture loop.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first location is closer to the distal end of the graft than to the proximal end of the graft.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first location is about 10 mm to about 40 mm from the distal end of the graft.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second location is between the first location and the distal end of the graft.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first stitch is defined by a portion of the suture loop passing around a side edge of the graft from the first location to the second location.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first stitch is defined by a portion of the suture loop looping around the graft at the first location.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first stitch and the second stitch is defined by the needle passing through a portion of the suture loop such that a single strand of the suture loop is on both sides of the needle.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first stitch and the second stitch is defined by the needle passing through a portion of the suture loop such that both strands of the suture loop are on both sides of the needle.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first stitch and the second stitch is a “throw” stitch.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first stitch and the second stitch is a “tag” stitch.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising securing the proximal end of the graft to a surgical device, and wherein the surgical device does not pass through the suture loop.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing the needle from the suture loop.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the first stitch is performed in a manner that is different from the manner of forming the second stitch.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the suture is a #2 suture.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the suture comprises a biological material.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graft is an autograft.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graft is an allograft.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the needle comprises Nitinol or stainless steel.
20. A suture/tissue construct formed by the method of claim 1 .