Bone grafting material packing instrument

Abstract

A bone graft material packing instrument, comprising a longitudinally extending handle and a laterally extending distal head having a downwardly curved upper surface bounded by vertically extending substantially flat sides and a flat horizontally extending lower surface.

1 . A bone graft material packing instrument, comprising, comprising:
 a longitudinally extending handle and   a laterally extending distal head having a downwardly curved upper surface bounded by vertically extending substantially flat sides and a flat horizontally extending lower surface.   
     
     
         2 . The instrument of  claim 1  wherein:
 the handle is longitudinally elongated on a longitudinal axis of the instrument and includes an enlarged lower hand-holdable portion having a longitudinally fluted outer surface for enhancing the gripability of the instrument.   
     
     
         3 . The instrument of  claim 1  wherein:
 the distal head is secured to the handle by an intermediate longitudinally extending portion of the instrument comprising a cylindrical lower section, an axially elongated frusto-conical middle section and an upper cylindrical section of reduced diameter compared to the diameter of the lower section,   the cylindrical lower section being secured to and being of a slightly reduced diameter relative an upper end of the hand-holdable portion of the handle,   a bottom of the frusto-conical middle section being secured to a top of the lower section, axially elongated on the axis of the instrument and reduced in lateral diameter as to approaches a relatively small upper end joined to a lower end of the upper cylindrical section, and   the upper cylindrical section extending longitudinally on the axis of the instrument upward to support the distal head secured to and supported by the end of the cylindrical section.   
     
     
         4 . The instrument of  claim 1  wherein:
 the distal head is secured to the handle by an intermediate longitudinally extending portion of the instrument and   the lower surface of the distal head extends laterally toward the longitudinal axis at an angle of about 90 degrees.   
     
     
         5 . The instrument of  claim 4  wherein:
 the inclined lower surface of the distal head extends laterally from the intermediate portion and from the longitudinal axis of the instrument.   
     
     
         6 . The instrument of  claim 5  wherein:
 the head includes a rounded forward end extending between the vertically extending sides.   
     
     
         7 . The instrument of  claim 6  wherein:
 the head is about 2.5 millimeters from a forward-most edge of a connection of the handle to the head and a forward-most point on the rounded forward end of the head and from a mid-point on the round of the forward end of the head  14  to a plane of the lower surface is about 0.5 millimeters and from the lower surface to a topmost portion of the upper surface is about 2 millimeters and   the vertical sides the head as they extend vertically between the upper surface and the flat horizontally extending lower surface are spaced about 1.5 millimeters.