Drill guide for cruciate ligament repair
AssigneeLinvatec Corporation
InventorsAndrew Kam, Hugh S. West
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A guide that facilitates the creation of two bone tunnels for use during a “double bundle” cruciate ligament repair. In the case of an anterior cruciate ligament repair the guide facilitates the formation of two tibial tunnels extending between a single aperture on the anterior tibia and two distinct apertures on the tibial plateau. The guide has a single angled throughbore for guiding a drill bit on a predetermined angle relative to the anterior portion of the tibial tunnel. In an alternative embodiment the guide has two independent and non-intersecting bores which allow the simultaneous placement into the tibial tunnel of two separate guide pins to guide the formation of two tibial tunnels on the tibial plateau.
Claims13
A guide for guiding a drill bit into a preformed bone tunnel having a first diameter, said guide comprising:
- an elongated body having a proximal end, a distal end, a first axis and a cylindrical portion at said distal end, said cylindrical portion coaxial with said axis and having a predetermined outer diameter adapted to fit within said bone tunnel;
- a bore extending through said cylindrical portion, said bore having a second axis, oriented at a predetermined angle relative to said first axis.
A tibial guide for guiding a plurality of guide pins into a preformed tibial bone tunnel comprising:
- a body having an axis and a distal portion thereof adapted to be received in the bone tunnel;
- an axial bore extending through said body;
- a first bore through said distal portion for receiving a first guide pin and directing it through said body toward a first point on the tibial plateau, said first bore inclined at a first predetermined angle relative to said axis;
- and
- a second bore through said distal portion for receiving a second guide pin and directing it through said body to a second point on the tibial plateau, the second point being spaced a predetermined distance from said first point, said second bore inclined at a first predetermined angle relative to said axis.
A method of creating a pair of tibial bone tunnels, each having a separate exit aperture on the tibial plateau, said method comprising the steps of:
- forming a first bone tunnel extending from the anterior tibia toward but not through the tibial plateau;
- providing a guide for guiding a drill bit into a preformed bone tunnel having a first diameter, said guide comprising:
- an elongated body having a proximal end, a distal end, a first axis and a cylindrical portion at said distal end, said cylindrical portion coaxial with said axis and having a predetermined outer diameter adapted to fit within said bone tunnel;
- a bore extending through said cylindrical portion, said bore having a second axis, oriented at a predetermined angle relative to said first axis;
- inserting the cylindrical distal portion of said guide into said bone tunnel;
- drilling through said distal portion of bone in said first bone tunnel to form a second bone tunnel having a predetermined diameter smaller than the diameter of said first bone tunnel, thereby producing a shoulder between said first and second bone tunnels;
- inserting said guide into said first bone tunnel;
- advancing said guide until it abuts the shoulder at the junction of said first and second bone tunnels;
- orienting said guide about its axis to align said bore with a selected point on the tibial plateau;
- advancing a drill through said bore toward said selected point on the tibial plateau to form a third bone tunnel.
A method of creating a pair of bone tunnels in a bone having an anterior surface and a posterior surface comprising the steps of:
- forming a first bone tunnel extending along a first axis from a first aperture in the anterior bone surface towards a first predetermined point on the posterior bone surface;
- and
- forming a second bone tunnel extending along a second axis from said first aperture on the anterior bone surface towards a second predetermine point on the posterior bone surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.