Surgical implant for marking soft tissue
An implantable tissue marker device is provided to be placed in a soft tissue site through a surgical incision. The device can include a bioabsorbable body in the form of a spiral and defining a spheroid shape for the device, the spiral having a longitudinal axis, and turns of the spiral being spaced apart from each other in a direction along the longitudinal axis. A plurality of markers can be disposed on the body, the markers being visualizable by a radiographic imaging device. The turns of the spiral are sufficiently spaced apart to form gaps that allow soft tissue to infiltrate between the turns and to allow flexibility in the device along the longitudinal axis in the manner of a spring.
1. A surgical implant for placement within a surgically created cavity, the surgical implant comprising:
a flexible, bioabsorbable mesh forming a three-dimensional support structure, wherein upon full deployment of the three-dimensional support structure within the surgically created cavity, the three-dimensional support structure forms a spheroid sized and shaped to fill the surgically created cavity and to delineate margins of the surgically created cavity; and
a plurality of radiopaque markers secured at various locations along a peripheral surface of the three-dimensional support structure.
2. The surgical implant of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional support structure defines a hollow internal cavity.
3. The surgical implant of claim 1 , wherein the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh is formed by biodegradable filaments.
4. The surgical implant of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of radiopaque markers comprises clips secured onto the biodegradable filaments of the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh.
5. The surgical implant of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of radiopaque markers is spaced around the peripheral surface to outline a border of the surgically created cavity after placement of the surgical implant into the surgically created cavity and during imaging of the surgical implant.
6. The surgical implant of claim 1 , wherein the spheroid has an equatorial region extending between first and second polar regions, and wherein at least a portion of the plurality of radiopaque markers is positioned at each of the first and second polar regions and around an equator of the spheroid.
7. A surgical implant for placement within a surgically created cavity, the surgical implant comprising:
a flexible body made of woven biodegradable filaments, the flexible body forming a hollow, spheroid support structure with an open architecture and an equatorial region extending between first and second polar regions, wherein the hollow, spheroid support structure is configured, after placement of the surgical implant into the surgically created cavity, to conform to a shape of the surgically created cavity to fill the surgically created cavity and to provide structural support to tissue forming the surgically created cavity, while allowing seroma fluid and tissue to pass through the hollow, spheroid support structure; and
a plurality of radiopaque markers secured at various locations along a peripheral surface of the hollow, spheroid support structure.
8. The surgical implant of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of radiopaque markers is distributed around the equatorial region of the hollow, spheroid support structure.
9. The surgical implant of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of radiopaque markers is positioned at both the first and second polar regions and around an equator of the hollow, spheroid support structure.
10. The surgical implant of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of radiopaque markers is distributed around the peripheral surface to outline a border of the surgically created cavity after placement of the surgical implant into the surgically created cavity and during imaging of the surgical implant.
11. The surgical implant of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of radiopaque markers comprises clips secured onto the woven biodegradable filaments of the flexible body.
12. The surgical implant of claim 7 , wherein the woven biodegradable filaments form a mesh.
13. A surgical implant for placement within a surgically created cavity, the surgical implant comprising:
a flexible, bioabsorbable mesh made up of filaments, wherein upon full deployment of the mesh within the surgically created cavity, the mesh forms a two-dimensional planar structure sized and shaped to fill the surgically created cavity; and
a plurality of radiopaque markers secured at various locations along a plane of the two-dimensional planar structure, wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers is attached to a respective one of the filaments of the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh.
14. The surgical implant of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers envelop a respective one of the filaments of the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh.
15. The surgical implant of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers is enveloped within the filaments of the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh.
16. The surgical implant of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers is a Titanium wire.
17. The surgical implant of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers is oriented substantially parallel to the plane of the two-dimensional planar structure.
18. The surgical implant of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of radiopaque markers is oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the two-dimensional planar structure.
19. The surgical implant of claim 13 , wherein the flexible, bioabsorbable mesh is configured to allow seroma fluid and tissue to pass through the two-dimensional planar structure.