# US 2014/0194883 A1 · Distal resection systems and methods > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0194883 A1 - Document ID: US20140194883A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/149,223 - Filed: 2014-01-07 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-07 - Assignees: Zimmer, Inc. - Applicants: Zimmer, Inc. - Inventors: Nolan C. Jones; Jeffery A. VanDiepenbos; Justin J. May - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140194883A1 ## CPC - A61B 17/155: {Cutting femur} - A61B 17/1764: {for the knee} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for preparing a distal end of a femur for receiving a knee prosthesis. A method can include installing a valgus guide onto an intermedullary rod, coupling a drill guide with said valgus guide, resting a boom tip of said drill guide on a high part of the femur, drilling a hole into a distal portion of a medial condyle using a first drill hole of said drill guide and drilling a hole into a distal portion of a lateral condyle using a second drill hole of said drill guide, and, subsequent to drilling the first and second drill holes, resecting the distal portion of the medial condyle of the femur and the distal portion of the lateral condyle of the femur. A system can include a valgus guide, a drill guide, and a resection tower, among other things. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for preparing a distal end of a femur for receiving a knee prosthesis, the method comprising: installing a valgus guide, including a first aperture for slidably accepting an intramedullary rod and one or more second apertures for accepting a drill guide, onto the intramedullary rod such that it contacts at least a distal portion of a medial condyle of the femur; coupling said drill guide with said valgus guide, including sliding one or more drill guide posts into said one or more second apertures of the valgus guide and locating a first drill hole of the drill guide substantially over the distal portion of the medial condyle of the femur and a second drill hole of the drill guide substantially over the distal portion of the lateral condyle of the femur; resting a boom tip of said drill guide on a high part of the femur to align said first drill hole and said second drill hole; drilling a hole into the distal portion of the medial condyle using said first drill hole and drilling a hole into the distal portion of the lateral condyle using said second drill hole; and resecting the distal portion of the medial condyle of the femur and the distal portion of the lateral condyle of the femur subsequent to drilling said first drill hole and said second drill hole. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the valgus guide contacts a distal portion of a medial condyle of the femur and a distal portion of a lateral condyle of the femur. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein locating the first and second drill holes over the distal portion of the medial and lateral condyles of the femur includes orienting the first and second drill holes along an axis substantially parallel to an axis of the intramedullary rod. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising decoupling said drill guide from said valgus guide and replacing said drill guide with a resection tower including a distal cut guide and one or more posts configured to slide into said one or more second apertures on the valgus guide. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein resecting the distal portion of the medial and lateral condyles of the femur includes inserting a saw blade into the distal cut guide of the resection tower. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising coupling a cut guide with the distal end of the femur, including inserting a first post of the cut guide into the hole drilled into said distal portion of the medial condyle and inserting a second post of the cut guide into the hole drilled into said distal portion of the lateral condyle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising verifying a size of the femur before coupling the cut guide with the distal end of the femur. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein resting the boom tip on the high part of the femur includes establishing femoral alignment and external rotation. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising coupling a knee prosthesis with the distal end of the femur. ### Claim 10 A system comprising: a valgus guide including a first aperture for slidably accepting an intramedullary rod and one or more second apertures; a drill guide, couplable with said valgus guide, including one or more drill guide posts, the one or more drill guide posts sized and shaped to be received by the one or more second apertures of said valgus guide; and a resection tower, couplable with said valgus guide, including one or more tower posts, the one or more tower posts sized and shaped to be received by the one or more second apertures of said valgus guide. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein said drill guide includes a boom tip. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein said drill guide includes a first drill hole and a second drill hole, the first and second drill holes positioned on said drill guide to be respectively located over a distal portion of medial and lateral condyles when said drill guide is coupled with said valgus guide. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, further comprising one or more drill bits sized and shaped to be received by the first and second drill holes. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein an orientation of an axis of the first aperture and an orientation of an axis of each of the one or more second apertures of said valgus guide are parallel. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein said resection tower includes a distal cut guide. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, further comprising a saw blade sized and shaped to be received by the distal cut guide.