System and method for assisting with attachment of a stock implant to a patient tissue

A method of attaching a stock prosthetic implant to a patient tissue, the stock prosthetic implant including a plurality of fastener apertures extending therethrough, the method comprising the steps of:

• placing a lower implant surface of the stock prosthetic implant into contact with the patient tissue in a predetermined implant orientation;
• providing a guide having a lower guide surface contoured to substantially mate with at least a portion of an upper implant surface of the stock prosthetic implant, an upper guide surface spaced longitudinally apart from the lower guide surface by a guide body, at least one guiding aperture extending through the guide body between the upper and lower guide surfaces at a predetermined aperture location with respect to the guide body, and two or more locating protrusions extending from the lower guide surface toward the upper implant surface for engaging the upper implant surface, the two or more locating protrusions being spaced apart from the at least one guiding aperture;
• defining a target trajectory through the guide body using the at least one guiding aperture, the target trajectory and the predetermined aperture location of the at least one guiding aperture being preselected responsive to preoperative imaging of the patient tissue;
• placing the lower guide surface into mating contact with the at least a portion of the upper implant surface in a selected one of a plurality of possible orientations of the guide relative to the stock prosthetic implant, the selected one of the plurality of possible orientations being a predetermined relative guide/implant orientation;
• placing a chosen one of the at least one guiding aperture of the guide into a collinear relationship with a chosen one of the plurality of fastener apertures of the stock implant, and nesting the two or more locating protrusions of the guide into preselected ones of the plurality of fastener apertures of the stock prosthetic implant such that the guide is oriented relative to the stock prosthetic implant in the predetermined relative guide/implant orientation, wherein the guide and the stock prosthetic implant are engaged together in a fixed rotational orientation relationship when the two or more locating protrusions are nested with the preselected ones of the plurality of fastener apertures, such that relative rotation between the guide and the stock prosthetic implant is prevented in the fixed rotational relationship;
• and
• at least one step selected from the group of steps consisting of:
• a step of guiding a surgical tool through the chosen guiding aperture and the chosen one of the plurality of fastener apertures, and a step of inserting the surgical tool into the patient tissue along the target trajectory to create a fastener cavity in the patient tissue;
• and
• guiding a fastener through the chosen one of the plurality of fastener apertures and into the patient tissue along the target trajectory.