Paragraph Number

124

Referring to FIG. 40, the distal portions of the suture strands have passed through the anchor body twice and have been pulled back proximally along the outside of the anchor body so that they are compressed between the anchor body and the bone tunnel wall. The proximal portions of the sutures have passed through the anchor body once, exited outwardly through the inferior distal openings, and then been pulled superiorly through the medial tunnels. This suture routing provides sufficiently low friction that the friction may be overcome by a user to independently pull each suture strand through the anchor body 102 to adjust the position and tension of the soft tissue yet sufficiently high friction that when the suture strands are released the imparted position and tension are maintained so the user can evaluate the repair and determine if further adjustments are needed. The inserter 200 may be used to provide an axial counterforce to keep the anchor body 102 in the bone tunnel while adjustments are made. Once the sutures are adjusted as desired, the inserter 200 is actuated to press the suture locking member 160 into the suture anchor 100 and secure the sutures to the suture anchor 100. The inserter 200 is further actuated to press the retainer 180 against the proximal end of the anchor body 102 and separate the proximal member 104 from the anchor body 102. When the proximal end 104 separates from the anchor body 102, the “U”-shaped openings 158, 159 transform into distally opening slots and the sutures release distally from the slots as the proximal end 104 is pulled away from the bone.

Added by DJM 9 2021