Adjustable suture-button construct for ankle syndesmosis repair

Inventors

Zajac, Eric S. • Albertorio, Ricardo • Roller, Brandon L.

Assignees

Arthrex Inc

Abstract

An adjustable, knotless button/loop construct for fixation of ankle syndesmosis tibio-fibular diastasis and an associated method of ankle repair using the same. The knotless construct comprises a pair of buttons attached to a flexible, continuous, self-cinching, adjustable loop integrated with two splices that are interconnected. The knotless construct is passed through fibular and tibia tunnels and the buttons are secured on the cortical surfaces of tibia and fibula. One of the buttons (for example, an oblong button) is secured on the medial side of the tibia by passing the button and the flexible, adjustable loop though the fibular and tibia tunnels and then flipping and seating the button outside the tibia. The length of the flexible adjustable loop is adjusted so that the second button (for example, a round button) is appropriately secured on the lateral fibula.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to an adjustable, self-locking knotless ankle syndesmosis system that includes a first fastener and a second fastener connected by an adjustable loop. The adjustable loop includes a spliced section in which a strand of the adjustable loop is threaded through itself, and the loop has a free tail configured to be tensionable for adjusting loop length. The free tail is received through an aperture of one of the fasteners so that the loop length can be adjusted after the fasteners are positioned relative to the bones.

In one configuration, the system uses a first fastener adapted for insertion through a bone hole in a first configuration and fixation relative to a first bone in a second configuration, and a second fastener adapted for fixation relative to a second bone. The adjustable loop interlinks first and second loop portions at a location between the first fastener and the second fastener, thereby integrating the loop structure between the two fasteners. The loop interlinking and spliced section are part of the adjustable loop structure for maintaining a knotless configuration while enabling length adjustment.

In another configuration, the system includes an elongated button sized and shaped for insertion through a tibial bone hole and a round button adapted for fixation relative to a fibula, with an adjustable loop connected between the elongated button and the round button. The adjustable loop includes a spliced section having a strand threaded through itself, and a free tail received through an aperture of the round button. The loop length is adjustable in a first direction and non-adjustable in a second direction, which provides directional self-locking behavior for the adjustable loop and supports realigning the fibula at a proper position relative to the tibia.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover two syndesmosis systems and their shared core inventive structure: an adjustable loop with a spliced section threaded through itself, a tensionable free tail received through a fastener aperture, and adjustable loop length with directional self-locking behavior and/or interlinked loop portions between fasteners.

The claims focus on the knotless adjustable loop structure with a spliced section and tensionable free tail received through a fastener aperture, together with either interlinked loop portions between fasteners or directional one-way adjustability using an elongated tibial button and a round fibular button.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications