Systems and methods for attaching soft tissue to an implant

1. An implant, comprising:

a joint component, and

a soft tissue attachment structure, including:

a surface defining a spaced pair of troughs;

a first fixation bridge spanning a portion of one of said pair of troughs; and

a second fixation bridge spanning a portion of the other of said pair of troughs;

each of said first and second fixation bridges and the respective troughs defining a suture tunnel for receiving suture;

a third fixation bridge spanning a portion of one of said pair of troughs; and

a fourth fixation bridge spanning a portion of the other of said pair of troughs.

2. The implant of claim 1 , in which the surface further defines a soft tissue ingrowth patch between said spaced pair of troughs.

3. The implant of claim 1 , in which said third fixation bridge is spaced from said first fixation bridge and said fourth fixation bridge is spaced from said second fixation bridge.

4. The implant of claim 1 , in which the surface further defines a soft tissue ingrowth patch between said spaced pair of troughs.

5. The implant of claim 1 , further including:

a second soft tissue attachment structure, including:

a second surface defining a second spaced pair of troughs;

a fifth fixation bridge spanning a portion of one of said second pair of troughs; and

a sixth fixation bridge spanning a portion of the other of said second pair of troughs;

each of said fifth and sixth fixation bridges and the respective trough troughs defining a suture tunnel for receiving suture.

6. The implant of claim 5 , in which the second surface further defines a second soft tissue ingrowth patch between said second spaced pair of troughs.

7. An implant, comprising:

a joint component, and

a soft tissue attachment structure, including:

a surface defining a trough; and

an ingrowth plate spanning a portion of said trough and defining a suture tunnel between said ingrowth plate and trough for receiving suture,

wherein the ingrowth plate is perforated to facilitate long-term ingrowth and biologic fixation of soft tissue to the joint component;

wherein the ingrowth plate bows convexly away from the surface; and

wherein the ingrowth plate is configured as a mesh.

8. The implant of claim 7 , in which the perforated mesh ingrowth plate has perforations defined by a plurality of intersecting rows of walls.

9. The implant of claim 8 , in which some of the rows intersect others of the rows at angles to define polygonal holes.

10. The implant of claim 7 , in which the soft tissue attachment structure includes a pair of reinforcing rods integral with the ingrowth plate and spanning a portion of the trough.

11. The implant of claim 10 , in which the reinforcing rods comprise depressions to receive sutures.

12. The implant of claim 7 , and further including a pair of protrusions extending outwardly of the surface and located adjacent the ingrowth plate.

13. The implant of claim 12 , in which each of the pair of protrusions defines a suture eyelet.

14. The implant of claim 13 , in which the soft tissue attachment structure includes a pair of reinforcing rods integral with the ingrowth plate and spanning a portion of the trough.

15. An implant, comprising:

a joint component, and

a soft tissue attachment structure, including:

a surface defining at least one trough;

a first fixation bridge spanning a portion of said at least one trough; and

a second fixation bridge spanning another portion of said at least one trough;

each fixation bridge defining a suture tunnel for receiving suture.