| abstract |
Apparatus and methods for repairing damaged tendons or ligaments. Various repair apparatus include an elongate tensile member (376) and a pair of anchor structures (390, 410) connected for movement along the tensile member (376) on either side of a repair site (370, 372), such as a tear or laceration. The anchor structures may take many forms, and may include barbed, helical, and crimp-type anchors (126, 390, 840). In the preferred embodiments, at least one anchor structure (390, 410) is movable along the elongate tensile member (376) to assist with adjusting a tendon segment (356) to an appropriate repair position and the anchor structure or structures (390, 410) are then lockable onto the elongate tensile member (376) to assist with affixing the tendon at the repair position. The invention further provides tendon-to-bone repair apparatus (250) and methods employing similar concepts. Tendon retrieval devices (750) of the invention include helical members (756) for rotating into a tendon end (752) and subsequently moving the tendon to an appropriate operating position. |