THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUTURE ANCHORS FOR USE IN SOFT-TISSUE FIXATION TO BONE

Soft tissue fixation to bone is a basic technique of orthopaedic surge ry for which a multitude of devices have been developed. A new class o f orthopaedic devices termed ''suture anchors'' has been developed to secure soft tissues to bone using suture material. The suture anchor i s designed to allow quick and secure fixation without the need for ext ensive exposure. This device was tested using in vitro and in vivo mod els and found to be comparable with standard transosseous and two-pron ged staple techniques. This device should prove useful in allowing the versatility of suture fixation of soft tissues to bone without the te chnical requirements of constructing transosseous suture tunnels.