Tibial cutting guide

Claim 1

An apparatus for preparing a proximal surface of a human tibia bone to receive a tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising, means for establishing a first axis generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the tibia bone, means for guiding a cutting blade into cutting engagement with a proximal portion of the tibia bone, means for selectively adjusting the position of the guiding means along the first axis, and means for angularly adjusting the guiding means with respect to both the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis to orient the guide means into a first plane defined by the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis, such that the guiding means is properly positioned adjacent the proximal portion of the tibia bone to permit a portion of the proximal portion of the tibia bone to be resected to receive the tibial portion of a knee prosthesis.

Claim 2

An apparatus for preparing a proximal surface of a human tibia bone to receive a tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising, means for establishing a first axis generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the tibia bone, means for guiding a cutting blade into cutting engagement with a proximal portion of the tibia bone, means for selectively adjusting the position of the guiding means along the first axis, and means for angularly adjusting the guiding means with respect to both the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis to orient the guide means into a first plane defined by the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis, such that the guiding means is properly positioned adjacent the proximal portion of the tibia bone to permit a portion of the proximal portion of the tibia bone to be resected to receive the tibial portion of a knee prosthesis.

Claim 4

An apparatus for preparing a proximal surface of a human tibia bone to receive a tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising, means for establishing a first axis generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the tibia bone, means for guiding a cutting blade into cutting engagement with a proximal portion of the tibia bone, means for selectively adjusting the position of the guiding means along the first axis, and means for angularly orienting the guiding means with respect to a first plane defined by the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis, such that the guiding means is properly positioned adjacent the proximal portion of the tibia bone to permit a portion of the proximal portion of the tibia bone to be resected to receive the tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, wherein the establishing means comprises an elongated rod that is formed to include a first end that is adapted to be inserted into a medullary canal in the tibia bone and a second end that extends upwardly out of the tibia bone when the first end is inserted into the bone, wherein the adjusting means comprises a first height adjusting device that is mounted on the second end of the elongated rod to permit height adjustment of the guiding means along the first axis and a second height adjusting device that is attached to the first adjustment device and which permits height adjustment of the guiding means relative to the first adjusting device along the first axis.

Claim 5

An apparatus for preparing a proximal surface of a human tibia bone to receive a tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprising, means for establishing a first axis generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the tibia bone, means for guiding a cutting blade into cutting engagement with a proximal portion of the tibia bone, means for selectively adjusting the position of the guiding means along the first axis, and means for angularly orienting the guiding means with respect to a first plane defined by the anterior-posterior axis and the medial-lateral axis, such that the guiding means is properly positioned adjacent the proximal portion of the tibia bone to permit a portion of the proximal portion of the tibia bone to be resected to receive the tibial portion of a knee prosthesis, wherein the establishing means comprises an elongated rod that is formed to include a first end that is adapted to be inserted into a medullary canal in the tibia bone and a second end that extends upwardly out of the tibia bone when the first end is inserted into the bone, wherein the adjusting means comprises a first height adjusting device that is mounted on the second end of the elongated rod to permit height adjustment of the guiding means along the first axis and a second height adjusting device that is attached to the first adjustment device and which permits height adjustment of the guiding means relative to the first adjusting device along the first axis.

Claim 8

An apparatus for orienting and controlling a cut to be made in a proximal portion of a human tibia bone to permit the bone to receive a tibial component of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprisisng, an intermedullary rod adopted to be partially inserted into the tibia bone to define a first axis generally coincident with the central longitudinal axis, a locking device that is movable along the first axis and is releasably lockable at selected locations along the uninserted portion of the intermedullary rod, a saw guide for accurately controlling the placement of a cutting saw blade relative to the proximal portion of the tibia bone, and means connecting the saw guide to the locking device for angularly orienting the saw guide relative to the locking device to properly position the saw guide in a selected angular orientation adjacent the proximal portion of the bone to permit the bone to be resected to produce a proximal surface of the bone that has a desired angular orientation for receiving the tibial portion of the knee prosthesis.

Claim 9

An apparatus for orienting and controlling a cut to be made in a proximal portion of a human tibia bone to permit the bone to receive a tibial component of a knee prosthesis, the tibia bone having an anterior-posterior axis, a medial-lateral axis, and a central longitudinal axis, the apparatus comprisisng, an intermedullary rod adopted to be partially inserted into the tibia bone to define a first axis generally coincident with the central longitudinal axis, a locking device that is movable along the first axis and is releasably lockable at selected locations along the uninserted portion of the intermedullary rod, a saw guide for accurately controlling the placement of a cutting saw blade relative to the proximal portion of the tibia bone, and means connecting the saw guide to the locking device for angularly orienting the saw guide relative to the locking device to properly position the saw guide in a selected angular orientation adjacent the proximal portion of the bone to permit the bone to be resected to produce a proximal surface of the bone that has a desired angular orientation for receiving the tibial portion of the knee prosthesis.

Claim 16

An apparatus for positioning and controlling a cut to be made in a proximal portion of a human tibia bone to create a generally flat surface oriented in a desired angular orientation to receive a tibial component of a knee prosthesis, the apparatus comprising, a saw guide that is positionable adjacent an anterior portion of the proximal portion of the bone, the saw guide having a flat planar surface for guiding a saw blade to permit the saw blade to resect a selected amount of the proximal portion of the bone to create the generally flat surface oriented at the desired angular orientation, an intermedullary rod having a first end that is adapted to be inserted into a medullary canal within the bone, with the inserted rod defining a first axis, the rod having a second end that extends away from the proximal portion of the bone along the first axis when the first end is inserted into the bone, a locking device that is movable and selectively lockable at selected positions along the second end of the rod along the first axis, a support bar cantilevered away from the locking device along a third axis that is parallel to an anterior-posterior axis of the tibia bone, a pivot device mounted on the support bar that is pivotable and selectively positionable about a second axis that is parallel to a medial-lateral axis of the tibia bone, and means for connecting the saw guide to the pivot device so that the saw guide is angularly positionable about the second axis to control the angular orientation of the reserted surface of the bone with respect to the anterior-posterior axis of the bone and is positionable along the first axis to control the amount of the bone that is resected.

Claim 17

An apparatus for positioning and controlling a cut to be made in a proximal portion of a human tibia bone to create a generally flat surface oriented in a desired angular orientation to receive a tibial component of a knee prosthesis, the apparatus comprising, a saw guide that is positionable adjacent an anterior portion of the proximal portion of the bone, the saw guide having a flat planar surface for guiding a saw blade to permit the saw blade to resect a selected amount of the proximal portion of the bone to create the generally flat surface oriented at the desired angular orientation, an intermedullary rod having a first end that is adapted to be inserted into a medullary canal within the bone, with the inserted rod defining a first axis, the rod having a second end that extends away from the proximal portion of the bone along the first axis when the first end is inserted into the bone, a locking device that is movable and selectively lockable at selected positions along the second end of the rod along the first axis, a support bar cantilevered away from the locking device along a third axis that is parallel to an anterior-posterior axis of the tibia bone, a pivot device mounted on the support bar that is pivotable and selectively positionable about a second axis that is parallel to a medial-lateral axis of the tibia bone, and means for connecting the saw guide to the pivot device so that the saw guide is angularly positionable about the second axis to control the angular orientation of the reserted surface of the bone with respect to the anterior-posterior axis of the bone and is positionable along the first axis to control the amount of the bone that is resected.