Annulus rings with suture clips

Abstract

Disclosed herein are annular prosthetic devices, such as annuloplasty rings, that include suture clips integrated into or mounted within an annular frame. The clips can quickly secure to sutures to obviate the need to tied knots in the sutures during implantation. Embodiments comprise an annular frame having an open central region and a plurality of suture clips spaced angularly apart around the frame. Each of the suture clips can comprise two opposing tabs that extend toward each other such that the suture clip forms a gripping region between ends of the tabs and the gripping region is configured to grip a suture inserted through the suture clip between the two tabs. The annular frame and the plurality of suture clips can be formed from a single piece of flat material with the suture clip tabs being formed by laser cutting the piece of flat material, or the suture clips can be movable along a track formed in the annular frame.

Description

technical field [0001] The field of the disclosure is suture attachment devices and methods for placing a prosthetic device at a native heart valve annulus. Background technique [0002] Prosthetic devices are typically implanted using sutures. For example, prosthetic heart valves and annuloplasty rings can be secured to the native heart valve annulus with sutures. Typically, the loose ends of the sutures are knotted to secure them together and / or to secure the prosthetic device to adjacent tissue. However, the process of tying a knot in the suture can be time-consuming and difficult, the amount of slack left in the suture can be unmanageable, the knot can be difficult or impossible to untie, and / or the knot can come loose unexpectedly. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for methods of stabilizing prosthetic devices using sutures without tying knots in the sutures. Contents of the invention [0003] Disclosed herein are annular prosthetic devices, such as annulopla...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, the process of tying a knot in the suture can be time-consuming and difficult, the amount of slack left in th

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