Harpoon suture anchor

Abstract

A harpoon suture anchor and driver, which suture anchor includes a pointed forward harpoon end that is for driving into a bone, the driver for mounting the suture anchor onto one end and is configured to receive a hammer force on its other end, and transmit that force into so as to drive the suture anchor harpoon end into which bone. An end of a suture connects into a cavity of a suture anchor cylindrical body, which cylindrical body fits into a suture anchor mount of the driver that includes a collar for contacting the bone surface limiting suture anchor penetration. Which suture anchor mount is open therethrough as is a driver rod connected thereto, the openings for maintaining the suture fitted therein until the driver and suture anchor mount are pulled therefrom. The invention includes three embodiments of suture anchor harpoon ends: a first embodiment of which is a regular cone that is inturned at a skirt into a wall that extends to the cylindrical body, sloping towards the pointed end, the skirt to flex inwardly as the suture anchor is hammered into a bone; a second embodiment of which is like the first embodiment except spaced arcuate flutes are removed from the regular cone body, leaving spaced body sections in a cross configuration, skirt sections of which body sections to flex inwardly during installation; and a third embodiment of which that is like the second embodiment except that the removed flutes are identically twisted or angled to the longitudinal axis, with the body sections likewise twisted, which twist imparts a rotation to the suture anchor around its longitudinal axes as it is hammered into a bone.