Fused loop of filamentous material and apparatus for making same

Abstract

A fused loop of an elongated material, such as a surgical suture, and apparatus for making the loop. Portions of one or more segments to be joined together are fused in a welding process to form a welded joint. The shear area of the fused portion of the joint determines the strength of the joint and is thus preferably relatively large. Various configurations for the welding apparatus facilitate the creation of relatively large fused portions of the joint by maximizing contact between at least one of the welding members of the apparatus and at least one of the segments to be joined.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to improvements in sutures and suturing techniques, and more particularly to materials and devices for making high-strength fused suture loops during surgical procedures. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In surgical procedures, a monofilamentous suture is typically used to stitch or secure the edges of tissue together to maintain them in proximity until healing is substantially completed. The suture is generally directed through the portions of the tissue to be joined and formed into a single loop or stitch, which is then knotted or otherwise secured in order to maintain the wound edges in the appropriate relationship to each other for healing to occur. In this manner a series of stitches of substantially uniform tension can be made in tissue. Because the stitches are individual and separate, the removal of one stitch does not require removal of them all or cause the remaining stitches to loosen. However, each individual stitch r...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] The present invention provides a fused loop of an elongated material, such as a polymeric or monofilamentous suture material, which has a strength in the joint region which is at least equal to, if not greater than, the strength of the parent material. The present invention also provides means for controlling the size and shape of the fused portion of the joint region in order to maximize joint strength.

Problems solved by technology

Because the direct application of heat to sutures in situ may produce undesirable heating of the surrounding tissue, it is preferred to apply non-thermal energy to the suture material in situ to induce localized heating of the suture material in the areas or sections to be fused.

While sutures typically fail under tensile loads applied along the principal axis of the suture, suture welds often fail in shear, i.e., in the plane of the fused region between the overlapped segments of suture material.

Although ultrasonic welding of sutures is known, it has heretofore been difficult or impossible to control the suture welding process in order to produce suture welds of sufficient strength and reliability to replace, or enhance the strength of, suture knots or other loop closure devices.

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