Femoral guide for knee surgery

Abstract

A joint replacement kit for use in a joint replacement procedure replacing a portion of a body joint. The kit includes a cutting guide and a trial component wherein the cutting guide and trial component are packaged together. There is also provided a method for replacing a portion of a body joint. The method includes providing a joint replacement kit having a cutting guide and a trial component, positioning the cutting guide against an end portion of a bone, cutting the end portion of the bone with a cutting instrument, positioning the trial component to the cut end portion of the bone, and disposing of the cutting guide and trial component.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A single-use guide for use in the preparation of a femur in knee surgery, the femur having a proximal end, a distal end, and an anterior portion, the guide comprising:
 a bone contacting surface configured to contact the femur when the guide is placed on the femur, and an outwardly facing surface configured to face away from at least a portion of the femur when the guide is placed on the femur, at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface being opposite the bone contacting surface;   a pair of circular apertures extending from the outwardly facing surface to the bone contacting surface, the pair of circular apertures each having a central longitudinal axis, the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures being substantially parallel to each other, each circular aperture of the pair of circular apertures being configured to guide a pin into the anterior portion of the femur when the guide is placed on the femur;   at least one circular opening having a central longitudinal axis being non-parallel to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures, the at least one circular opening extending into the outwardly facing surface; and   a non-circular aperture extending into the outwardly facing surface, the non-circular aperture having a perimeter at the outwardly facing surface and being configured to provide access to at least a portion of the distal end of the femur, at least a portion of the perimeter of the non-circular aperture being positioned at least in part between at least one of the pair of circular apertures and the at least one circular opening,   wherein the guide is formed at least in part of a polymeric material for disposal after only a single use.   
     
     
         2 . The guide of  claim 1 , wherein the guide is formed entirely of the polymeric material. 
     
     
         3 . The guide of  claim 1 , wherein the central longitudinal axis of the at least one circular opening is substantially perpendicular to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures 
     
     
         4 . The guide of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular aperture is a slot having a pair of parallel guide surfaces configured to guide a cutting instrument therethrough. 
     
     
         5 . The guide of  claim 1 , wherein the guide is a distal resection guide configured to guide a cutting instrument across a portion of the distal end of the femur. 
     
     
         6 . The guide of  claim 1 , wherein the guide includes opposed side surfaces, each of the side surfaces connecting the bone contacting surface and the outwardly facing surface, at least a portion of the side surfaces being curved. 
     
     
         7 . The guide of  claim 6 , wherein the side surfaces each include a concave portion. 
     
     
         8 . The guide of  claim 5 , wherein the cutting instrument is one of a saw blade, a milling bit, a drill bit, and a chisel. 
     
     
         9 . A system for use in the preparation of a femur in knee surgery, the femur having a proximal end, a distal end, and an anterior portion, the system comprising:
 a single-use guide comprising:
 a bone contacting surface configured to contact the femur when the guide is placed on the femur, and an outwardly facing surface configured to face away from the femur when the guide is placed on the femur, at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface being opposite the bone contacting surface; 
 a pair of circular apertures extending from the outwardly facing surface to the bone contacting surface, the pair of circular apertures each having a central longitudinal axis, the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures being substantially parallel to each other, each circular aperture of the pair of circular apertures being configured to guide a pin into the anterior portion of the femur when the guide is placed on the femur; 
 at least one circular opening having a central longitudinal axis being non-parallel to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures, the at least one circular opening extending into the outwardly facing surface; and 
 a non-circular aperture extending into the outwardly facing surface, the non-circular aperture having a perimeter at the outwardly facing surface and being configured to provide access to at least a portion of the distal end of the femur, at least a portion of the perimeter of the non-circular aperture being positioned at least in part between at least one of the pair of circular apertures and the at least one circular opening, 
 wherein the guide is formed at least in part of a polymeric material for disposal after only a single use; and 
   a metallic cutting instrument sized and shaped to pass through at least one of the apertures of the guide and into the femur.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the guide is formed entirely of the polymeric material. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the central longitudinal axis of the at least one circular opening is substantially perpendicular to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the non-circular aperture is a slot having a pair of parallel guide surfaces configured to guide a cutting instrument therethrough. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the guide is a distal resection guide configured to guide the cutting instrument across a portion of the distal end of the femur. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the guide includes opposed side surfaces, each of the side surfaces connecting the bone contacting surface and the outwardly facing surface, at least a portion of the side surfaces being curved. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the side surfaces each include a concave portion. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9  further comprising a cutting guide. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the cutting guide is configured for disposal after only a single use. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the cutting instrument is one of a saw blade, a milling bit, a drill bit, and a chisel. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 9  further comprising a plurality of pins configured for insertion into the pair of circular apertures of the guide. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 9  further comprising a femoral implant configured for attachment to the femur. 
     
     
         21 . A kit for use in the preparation of a femur and a tibia in knee surgery, the femur having a proximal end, a distal end, and an anterior portion, the kit comprising:
 a single-use femoral guide for use in the preparation of the femur in the knee surgery, the femoral guide comprising:
 a bone-contacting surface configured to contact the femur when the femoral guide is removed from the kit and positioned on the femur, and an outwardly-facing surface configured to face away from at least a portion of the femur when the femoral guide is placed on the femur, at least a portion of the outwardly-facing surface being opposite the bone-contacting surface; 
 a pair of circular apertures extending from the outwardly-facing surface to the bone-contacting surface, the pair of circular apertures each having a central longitudinal axis, the central longitudinal axes being substantially parallel to one another, each circular aperture being configured to guide a pin into the anterior portion of the femur when the femoral guide is positioned on the femur; 
 at least one circular opening having a central longitudinal axis being non-parallel to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures, the at least one circular opening extending into the outwardly-facing surface; and 
 a non-circular aperture extending into the outwardly-facing surface, the non-circular aperture having a perimeter at the outwardly-facing surface and being configured to provide access to at least a portion of the distal end of the femur, at least a portion of the perimeter of the non-circular aperture being positioned at least in part between at least one of the pair of circular apertures and the at least one circular opening, 
 wherein the femoral guide is formed at least in part of a polymeric material for disposal after only a single use; and 
   a tibial guide for use in the preparation of the tibia in the knee surgery.   
     
     
         22 . The kit of  claim 21 , wherein the femoral guide is formed entirely of polymeric material. 
     
     
         23 . The kit of  claim 21 , wherein the non-circular aperture is a slot having a pair of parallel guide surfaces configured to guide a cutting instrument therethrough. 
     
     
         24 . The kit of  claim 21  further comprising a plurality of pins configured for insertion into the pair of circular apertures. 
     
     
         25 . The kit of  claim 21  further comprising at least one of a saw blade, a milling bit, a drill bit, and a chisel. 
     
     
         26 . The kit of  claim 21 , further comprising a femoral implant as part of the kit and removable from the kit for the knee surgery. 
     
     
         27 . A kit for use in the preparation of a femur in knee surgery, the femur having a proximal end, a distal end, and an anterior portion, the kit comprising:
 a single-use femoral guide comprising:
 a bone-contacting surface configured to contact the femur when the femoral guide is removed from the kit and positioned on the femur, and an outwardly-facing surface configured to face away from at least a portion of the femur when the femoral guide is placed on the femur, at least a portion of the outwardly-facing surface being opposite the bone-contacting surface; 
 a pair of circular apertures extending from the outwardly-facing surface to the bone-contacting surface, the pair of circular apertures each having a central longitudinal axis, the central longitudinal axes being substantially parallel to one another, each circular aperture being configured to guide a pin into the anterior portion of the femur when the femoral guide is positioned on the femur; 
 at least one circular opening having a central longitudinal axis being non-parallel to the central longitudinal axes of the pair of circular apertures, the at least one circular opening extending into the outwardly-facing surface; and 
 a non-circular aperture extending into the outwardly-facing surface, the non-circular aperture having a perimeter at the outwardly-facing surface and being configured to provide access to at least a portion of the distal end of the femur, at least a portion of the perimeter of the non-circular aperture being positioned at least in part between at least one of the pair of circular apertures and the at least one circular opening, 
 wherein the femoral guide is formed at least in part of a polymeric material for disposal after only a single use; and 
   a plurality of pins configured for insertion into the pair of circular apertures.   
     
     
         28 . The kit of  claim 27 , wherein the femoral guide is formed entirely of polymeric material. 
     
     
         29 . The kit of  claim 27 , wherein the non-circular aperture is a slot having a pair of parallel guide surfaces configured to guide a cutting instrument therethrough. 
     
     
         30 . The kit of  claim 27  further comprising at least one of a saw blade, a milling bit, a drill bit, and a chisel.