Systems and methods for guiding cuts to a femur and tibia during a knee arthroplasty

Abstract

An assembly for guiding resection of a femur and tibia of a knee joint in preparation for installing a femoral and tibial knee components. For example, the assembly can include tibial and femoral IM rods to which are connected through a tensioning bolt that allows controlled adjustment of the distraction of the tibia and femur during cut positioning in a range of flexion angles. Also, the assembly is usable with relatively small, noninvasive approaches to the knee joint by way of relatively narrow, low profile components that attach to tibial and femoral IM rods. Further, the assembly includes several quick-release components to allow fast assembly and disassembly in a surgical setting. Each of these aspects, along with the ability of the assembly to accurately guide initial reference cuts to the tibia and femur, promotes an improved outcome for the patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for adjusting tension between a femur and a tibia of a knee joint, the assembly comprising:
 a femoral member configured to removably couple with the femur, the femoral member defining an aperture that extends into the femoral member and that is configured to extend into the femur when the femoral member is coupled to the femur;   a tibial member configured to be removably coupled to the tibia; and   a tensioning assembly configured to extend between the femoral member and the tibial member such that a portion of the tensioning assembly is configured to be: (a) twisted in a first direction to force the femoral member and the tibial member to move away from each other and (b) twisted in a second direction to force the femoral member and the tibial member to move closer together.