| 摘要 |
An apparatus for repairing a tear in an annulus fibrosus of a spinal disc includes a hollow, helically-shaped suturing needle and a retriever. The needle is used to insert a suture along a helical pathway bridging the tear. The retriever is used to retrieve one end of the suture from the inside of the annulus and bring it close the other end of the suture outside the annulus, where the suture can be tensioned and tied to fixate the tear. In other embodiments, multiple sutures are placed with helically-shaped needles of differing dimensions.
|
