Patent attributes
A protective device for use with an interference screw used to attach a soft tissue graft within a bone tunnel reduces the tendency of the interference screw to undesirably snag a soft tissue graft and/or sutures when screwed into a bone tunnel. The protective device has an angled face that corresponds to an angled face of the interference screw and threads that correspond to the threads of the interference screw. When used together, the protective device effectively completes the part of the interference screw that is removed to form the angled face. This, in turn, reduces or eliminates any sharp edges that would otherwise catch or snag the tissue graft and/or sutures as the interference screw is screwed into a bone tunnel during a joint repair procedure. The protective device may be included within a kit together with a correspondingly sized and shaped interference screw, and optionally with a driver.
