United States Surgical Corporation

John J Kennedy

Ross R Muth

Donald S Kaplan

Matthew E Hermes

Cheng-Kung Liu

Steven L Bennett

Michael P Chesterfield

Keith Raymond D'Alessio

Elliot A Gruskin

Polymer blends of glycolide and/or lactide homopolymer and/or glycolide/lactide copolymer and polycaprolactone and/or polytrimethylene carbonate homopolymer or copolymers thereof and absorbable surgical devices manufactured therefrom having improved mechanical properties, such as improved impact resistance and improved cyclic flex, are disclosed.

Blends of glycolide and/or lactide polymers and caprolactone and/or trimethylene carbonate polymers and absorabable surgical devices made therefrom

A completely bioabsorbable reinforced composite material for use in medical implants and a method for making same. The composite material comprises a hybrid yarn of intimately co-mingled reinforcement fibers of a crystalline polymer and matrix fibers of a polymer having a glass transition temperature below the melting point of the crystalline polymer. The hybrid yarn is heated under pressure to a processing temperature between the glass transition temperature of the matrix fibers and the melting point of the crystalline polymer to form a continuous matrix with reinforcing fibers of crystalline polymer. The composite material may be formed by a two step consolidation process.

Bioabsorbable medical implants

A block copolymer for use in the fabrication of bioabsorbable articles such as monofilament surgical sutures is prepared by copolymerizing one or more hard phase forming monomers and 1,4-dioxan-2-one, and then polymerizing one or more hard phase forming monomers with the dioxanone-containing copolymer.

Absorbable composition

Polymer blends of glycolide and/or lactide homopolymer and/or glycolide/lactide copolymer and polycaprolactone and/or polytrimethylene carbonate homopolymer or copolymers thereof and absorbable surgical devices manufactured therefrom having improved mechanical properties, such as improved impact resistance and improved cyclic flex, are disclosed. The blends may be prepared by polymerizing a glycolide or lactide containing polymer in the presence of a polymer derived from trimethylene carbonate or .epsilon.-caprolactone.

Blends of glycolide and/or lactide polymers and caprolactone and/or

A bioabsorbable fiber useful for the manufacture of medical devices is obtained from a polymer containing from about 15 to about 30 mole percent glycolide in a melt spinning operation carried out under low shear conditions. The fiber is drawn at a ratio of about 1.5 to 2.7. The fiber possesses excellent tensile strength and a high level of retention of its original strength on storage.

Bioabsorbable melt spun fiber based on glycolide-containing copolymer

A support material for cell impregnation is provided. The support material is fabricated from a semiabsorbable composite yarn comprising a nonabsorbable, elastic core yarn and an absorbable, relatively inelastic sheath yarn. A prosthetic device may be formed from the support material. The support material is impregnated with living cells followed by incorporation into the tissue structure of a host organism. The support material impregnated with cells may be cultured in vitro to increase the number of cells prior to incorporation into the host organism.

Support material for cell impregnation

A process is provided for preparing particles of polymer by heating the polymer having an inherent viscosity not exceeding about 0.6 dl/g when measured at a temperature of about 30.degree. C. in chloroform or hexafluoroisopropanol, dividing the heated polymer into particles, and then solidifying these particles such that substantially no fibers are formed among the particles.

Process for preparing polymer particles

A bioabsorbable fiber useful for the manufacture of medical devices is obtained from a polymer containing from about 15 to about 30 mole percent glycolide in a melt spinning operation carried out under low shear conditions. The fiber possesses excellent tensile strength and a high level of retention of its original strength on storage.

A block copolymer for use in the fabrication of bioabsorbable articles such as monofilament surgical sutures is prepared by copolymerizing lactide and 1,4-dioxanone, and then polymerizing glycolide with the lactide/1,4-dioxanone copolymer.

A semi-bioabsorbable connective tissue prosthesis, e.g., a replacement for the human anterior cruciate ligament, is provided whose stress-strain characteristics closely match those of the natural tissue.

Synthetic semiabsorbable composite yarn

Connective tissue prosthesis

A process is provided for preparing bioabsorbable polymer particles employing rotary atomization.

Process for preparing particles of bioabsorbable polymer

An absorbable, annealed surgical device made from a multi-phase, polymeric composition derived from lactide and glycolide. Preferably, the composition has two phases, both phases are continuous, the first phase has about 0-about 25%m glycolide moieties, the overall composition has up to 45%m glycolide moieties, and the first phase constitutes at least 50% (and preferably not more than about 95%) by weight of the composition. The device has a high distortion temperature, good resistance to hot-wet creep, but yet loses tensile strength in vivo quickly. The composition per se is injection-moldable, can be annealed, and is not brittle.

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Stratford, CT, United States of America

John J Kennedy