Patent attributes
The invention relates to a method of suturing. Briefly, a portion of a needle having a continuous suture thread running through the eye is advanced through a first location on a first side of a tissue. When the needle is withdrawn from said tissue a suture loop is retained on a second side of said tissue. This can be repeated to obtain as many suture loops as desired on additional locations of the tissue. When all the desired suture loops are formed the needle is advanced all the way through the tissue and a single strand of suture thread is passed through each suture loop on the second side of the said tissue. Thus, one continuous suture forms the suture loop(s) and engages the sutured loops. In a preferred embodiment the needle eye, through which the suture thread runs, is located in the tip portion of said needle. It is also preferred that the needle is curved. The tissue may be, for example, a tendon (e.g., patellar), a ligament, or a graft. In yet another embodiment the suturing method of the present invention involves passing a suture through a tendon to achieve maximum suture fixation strength, as well as a method of securing the tendon to bone that allows for accelerated tendon healing to bone. The invention also relates to a construct prepared by the suture methods of the present invention.
