Soft suture-based anchors
Suture constructs and methods for soft tissue to bone repairs. The suture construct is a soft, suture-based anchor which is self-cinching and has a specific, accordion-type configuration (i.e., with the ability to fold from a first, extended position to a second, folded or compressed position). The suture-based anchor may be formed essentially of a flexible material such as a high strength surgical suture, suture chain, or suture.
1. A method, comprising:
preparing a socket in a bone;
inserting a suture based anchor into the socket with a forked tip of an inserter;
wherein the suture based anchor includes a unitary first flexible suture strand and a separate second flexible suture strand passed through an internal portion of the first flexible suture strand at three or more distinct locations; and
tensioning the second flexible strand, thereby moving the suture based anchor from a first, extended position to a second, compressed position.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the suture based anchor is looped over the forked tip.
3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the suture based anchor is made exclusively of suture-based materials.
4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first and second flexible suture strands each includes braided ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers.
5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first flexible suture strand includes polyester fibers and the second flexible suture strand includes ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers.
6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first flexible suture strand and the second flexible suture strand are colored differently.
7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the internal portion includes a core of the first flexible suture strand.
8. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second flexible suture strand passes through the internal portion of the first flexible suture strand to establish a suture-through-suture configuration at the three or more distinct locations.
9. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the suture based anchor further includes a third flexible suture strand passed through the first flexible suture strand at each of the three or more distinct locations to provide a double-loaded suture based anchor.
10. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein a first location of the three or more distinct locations is spaced a first distance from a second location of the three or more distinct locations, and a third location of the three or more distinct locations is spaced a second distance from the second location, and further wherein the first distance and the second distance are equal distances.
11. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising passing the second flexible suture strand through a soft tissue.
12. The method as recited in claim 11 , wherein the soft tissue is fixated to the bone after the tensioning.
13. The method as recited in claim 1 , comprising, prior to the tensioning, threading the second flexible suture strand through itself to create a finger-trap mechanism.
14. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the suture based anchor includes a bunched-up configuration when in the second, compressed position.
15. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising passing the second flexible suture strand through a soft tissue subsequent to the inserting.