Back to results
US 12,137,949 B2Granted
Rib fracture fixation device and methods for use thereof
AssigneeSanford Health
InventorsSteven Briggs, Patrick W. Kelly
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The disclosure provides example methods, systems and apparatus for stabilization of a rib. An example method includes: (a) accessing a medullary canal of a rib having a fracture, (b) advancing a guidewire into the medullary canal across the fracture, (c) advancing a delivery catheter containing a stent over the guidewire into the medullary canal and across the fracture, (d) retracting the delivery catheter relative to the stent, and (e) expanding the stent in the medullary canal.
Claims17
A system, comprising:
- a tension line having a removable snare at a free end, wherein the tension line has threads;
- a first plug configured to be advanced down the free end of the tension line and a second access hole of a rib, wherein the first plug has a hole extending longitudinally therethrough that has reciprocal threads to mate with the threads of the tension line;
- a plurality of stents configured to be advanced over the tension line through a first access hole in the rib into a medullary canal of the rib until a length of the medullary canal between the first access hole and the second access hole is filled with the plurality of stents, wherein each of the plurality of stents has a concave face at a first end and a convex face at a second end such that, when the plurality of stents are arranged adjacent to each other along the tension line, the concave face of the first end of a first stent will mate with the convex face of the second end of an adjacent second stent;
- and
- a second plug configured to be advanced down an end of the tension line and into the first access hole, wherein the second plug has a hole extending longitudinally therethrough that has reciprocal threads to mate with the threads of the tension line.
2 more elements
A method, comprising:
- accessing a medullary canal of a rib having a fracture;
- advancing a guidewire into the medullary canal across the fracture;
- advancing a delivery catheter containing a stent over the guidewire into the medullary canal and across the fracture;
- retracting the delivery catheter relative to the stent;
- and
- expanding the stent in the medullary canal;
- and
- sizing the medullary canal by displacing contents of the medullary canal such that the medullary canal has a diameter of at least 3 mm,
- wherein sizing the medullary canal by displacing the contents of the medullary canal comprises:
- advancing a catheter containing a drill bit through an access hole to the medullary canal;
- advancing the drill bit out of a first end of the catheter;
- activating the drill bit thereby causing the drill bit to rotate;
- advancing the contents from the medullary canal into the catheter via the rotating drill bit;
- and
- retracting the drill bit into the catheter and advancing the drill bit and the contents from the medullary canal out of an access port at a second end of the catheter.
12 more elements
A method, comprising:
- creating a first access hole through a cortex of a rib on a first side of a fracture to a medullary canal of the rib;
- accessing the medullary canal through the first access hole;
- advancing a catheter through the first access hole into the medullary canal across the fracture to a distal end of the medullary canal;
- and
- advancing a guidewire through the catheter distal to the fracture in the medullary canal and securing an anchor coupled to a distal end of the guidewire within the medullary canal, wherein the guidewire is configured as a tension line;
- retracting the catheter through the medullary canal and out of the first access hole;
- advancing a plug over a free end of the guidewire and along the guidewire to the first access hole;
- and
- placing the guidewire under tension.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.