Abstract: A structure anchor assembly having a suture anchor, a suture attached to the suture anchor, and an inserter for deploying the suture anchor in bone whereby the suture will extend from, and be anchored to, the bone. The suture anchor has a drill portion, a thread portion and a suture attachment portion. The drill portion is disposed on a distal portion of the anchor and is adapted to penetrate the bone. The thread portion extends proximally from the drill portion along the remainder of the length of the anchor and is adapted to draw the anchor through the bone. A proximal portion terminates in a proximal end surface. The thread portion extends along the proximal portion and terminates adjacent to the proximal end surface.

Abstract: There is presented a suture anchor comprising a head portion and a connector portion. The head portion includes a pointed free end, a cutting flute extending substantially throughout the length of the head portion, and screw threads extending substantially throughout the length of the head portion. The connector portion extends axially from the head portion for releasable connection to an anchor inserter. The connector portion is provided with structure for attachment of a suture thereto. There is further presented a suture anchor inserter for use in combination with the suture anchor in attachment of the anchor to a bone, and a suture anchor length of suture material. There is still further presented a method for anchoring a length of suture to a bone.

Abstract: A modular surgical drill in the form of a rigid drill shaft and a drill bit which are connected together at the rear end of the drill bit and the forward end of the drill shaft by a tongue-and-groove arrangement. Each of the shaft and drill bit are provided with through bores extending centrally through their entire length. These bores become aligned upon assembly of the drill bit and shaft. The modular drill is intended to be employed with a guidewire for drilling holes into bone. The assembled drill bit and shaft are placed on the guidewire and moved down such guidewire into contact with the bone, whereupon a tunnel may be formed into the bone by rotating and advancing the drill bit along the guidewire. The dimensions of the bore and guidewire are so selected as to prevent the drill bit and drill shaft from moving relative to one another once they are assembled and mounted upon the guidewire.

Abstract: An anterior cruciate ligament or soft tissue tensioning and knee displacement measuring device and method for its use to apply a tensile stress into a repaired or replaced graft and to maintain tension on that graft while an interference screw, or like fastener, is turned into a tunnel section end, containing the graft or sutures connected to the graft, wedging it against the tunnel wall, and, during application of the tensile stress, for determining the distance that the knee is displaced. The invention includes a tensioning device having, as a body, a pair of straight rails with a cross member secured across the rails rear or distal ends with forward or proximal rail ends connected to mounting tubes that are for fitting into pins as have been mounted into to extend from a bone cortex, alongside the tunnel section end, and including a trolley maintained to travel between the body rails.

Abstract: A bone anchor and method for its use in an arthroscopic and open soft tissue surgical procedure to mount a ligament graft, or the like, under tension and at variable lengths in a tunnel section that is formed through a bone or bones. The bone anchor embodiments of the invention each have a body for mounting into and/or adjacent a bone cortex surface in a tunnel section to allow at least one suture or shaft that has been fitted through the bone anchor, and is attached to the ligament graft to be pulled through the bone anchor. The suture or shaft to pass across a movable clamp fitted within the body to move so as to allow the suture or shaft to be pulled freely through the bone anchor distal, but will clamp against the suture or shaft, prohibiting its being pulled back therethrough.

Abstract: A suture anchor loader and driver for mounting a suture anchor with a connected suture, that is arranged for mounting and maintaining the suture to the driver distal end while driving the anchor into a bone, whereafter the driver is removed from the anchor, leaving the suture extending from the seated anchor. The driver includes a cylindrical solid body and has an anchor mount formed as its distal end that is for receiving a coupling end of the anchor fitted therethrough and includes a center longitudinal passage, wherethrough the anchor suture is fitted. A first curved passage is formed in the driver body distal end and intersects the center longitudinal passage through the anchor mount, and extends to the driver body surface where it intersects a straight longitudinal groove that is formed along the driver body.

Abstract: A modular surgical drill in the form of a rigid drill shaft and a drill bit which are connected together at the rear end of the drill bit and the forward end of the drill shaft by a tongue-and-groove arrangement. Each of the shaft and drill bit are provided with through bores extending centrally through their entire length. These bores become aligned upon assembly of the drill bit and shaft. The modular drill is intended to be employed with a guidewire for drilling holes into bone. The assembled drill bit and shaft are placed on the guidewire and moved down such guidewire into contact with the bone, whereupon a tunnel may be formed into the bone by rotating and advancing the drill bit along the guidewire. The dimensions of the bore and guidewire are so selected as to prevent the drill bit and drill shaft from moving relative to one another once they are assembled and mounted upon the guidewire.

Abstract: An improved drill guide device is provided for accurately drilling a passageway through bone. The drill guide comprises a support, a curved radial rack, a locator boom movably disposed on the curved radial rack, a drill sleeve and an indexing mechanism. The drill sleeve may be discretely indexed toward the target bone and locked/unlocked in position with a single handed operation.

Abstract: A driver instrument with dual holding features for use with a combination of a medical staple and movable washer with that are used in a surgical procedure for attaching a ligament, or the like, onto a bone surface. The driver includes a straight body that is preferably cylindrical, is formed of a hard metal and includes a hand engaging central portion. A driver top end is flanged outwardly into flat head end that can be struck, as with a hammer to impart a hammer force therethrough, with the driver lower end portion formed with a threaded portion for turning into a threaded hole formed through a web of the medical staple, and with a spring collet formed with, or connected axially to, the driver lower end portion.

Abstract: A bone fixation and fusion system, that is preferably for use for joining bone ends together, and includes two members, that are each for individual turning into bone material, and include, respectively, male and female connector ends, that are for fitting together to connect together the member ends, bringing the bone material wherein they are turned into engagement and once connected resist being pulled apart. The connector ends are, respectively a cylindrical sleeve that extends axially from one member rear face, that includes a ring formed around the cylinder end and is cross cut longitudinally from that ring end, to form a spring collet, with the other connector end consisting of a cylindrical cavity that is formed longitudinally into the other member rear face for receiving the spring collet therein, which cylindrical cavity may include a groove, grooves or threads formed in the cavity wall that the spring collet ring end flexes into to provide a resistance to the two members being pulled apart.

Abstract: An anchor driver for mounting a ligament anchor and turning it into a bone, which ligament anchor includes a suture attached to a rear end that is maintained in a driver body until the anchor driver is pulled off of the ligament anchor seated in the bone. The driver body is preferably a rigid straight tube that includes an anchor mount disposed on a forward end whereto the ligament anchor is fitted. So arranged, a suture, that is disposed on the ligament anchor coupling end, will extend therefrom as a suture strand or strands that are fitted through the anchor mount, to pass through the driver body and are then bent to double back upon themselves and fitted back into the driver body. For maintaining the suture strand or stands in a straight attitude, in one embodiment a resilient cap is provided that has a hole or slot formed therein wherethrough the suture strand bend or bends are fitted into a cavity within the cap, which cap is then fitted over the driver body open end.

Abstract: A bone milling guide apparatus and method for preparing the proximal end of a femur to receive a hip stem prosthesis in snug-fitting relationship. The ball portion of the femur is removed using conventional surgical techniques to expose the underlying cancellous bone. An axial bore is drilled in the intramedullary canal to receive the distal portion of the hip stem prosthesis. The proximal end of the axial bore is reamed to form a tapered recess which is dimensionally configured to receive a portion of the external surface of the proximal end of the hip stem prosthesis. A tapered, hollow body is inserted into the tapered recess and supports a U-shaped template extending outwardly therefrom. Each arm of the U-shaped template is affixed to the tapered, hollow body on each side of a longitudinal slot in the side of the tapered, hollow body.

Abstract: An arbor press staple and washer of the invention is for use in a practice of a surgical procedure for securing a ligament, that is either natural or prosthetic, onto a bone cortex surface and includes a staple having spaced equal parallel legs with a flat web arranged between the top ends of the staple legs. The staple is for driving into a bone cortex surface and includes barb ridges around three of its four sides for resisting staple withdrawal. The staple flat web includes at least one hole, that is preferably tapped, formed therethrough that is for receiving a threaded section of a threaded pin turned therethrough, and includes a pair of guide posts that extend, at right angles, from the web undersurface. An arbor plate type washer, that is a flat plate that has concave notches formed in opposite ends, is for arrangement between the staple legs, the concave notches sliding along the staple legs prohibiting washer rotation.

Abstract: A modular hip stem prosthesis including a hip stem with an integral, enlarged shoulder and a neck section mountable to the hip stem. The integral, enlarged shoulder is designed to closely conform to the metaphyseal region to securely mount the hip stem in the end of the femur. The enlarged, shoulder portion of the hip stem is also selectively configured to be fabricated as a separate element so as to allow one of a plurality of distal stems to be mounted to the enlarged shoulder to create the hip stem. The neck section readily adapts the hip stem prosthesis for repair and replacement of the components of the total hip replacement without requiring replacement of the hip stem.