Methods and systems for arthroplasty

A method for aligning a tibia and talus during ankle arthroplasty, comprising:

• positioning a tibial Patient-Specific Instrument (PSI) on a tibia, wherein the tibial PSI includes at least one tibial PSI surface contoured to conform to at least one tibial contact surface of the tibia, wherein the contouring of the at least one tibial PSI surface is operable to provide an indication of a mispositioning of the tibial PSI on the tibia;
• drilling the tibia via at least one distal drilling aperture in the tibial PSI;
• inserting at least one distil pin in the tibia, wherein the at least one distal drilling aperture corresponds to a pre-determined placement of the at least one distil pin within the tibia;
• resecting a portion of the tibia using at least one cutting guide on the tibial PSI to form a resected tibia surface;
• positioning a talar PSI on a talus, wherein the talar PSI includes at least one talar PSI surface contoured to conform to at least one talar contact surface of the talus, wherein the contouring of the at least one talar PSI surface is operable to provide an indication of a mispositioning of the talar PSI on the talus;
• drilling the talus via at least one alignment drilling aperture in the talar PSI;
• inserting at least one alignment pin in the talus, wherein the at least one alignment drilling aperture corresponds to a pre-determined placement of the at least one alignment pin within the talus;
• adjusting the talar PSI and the talus relative to the tibia with the at least one alignment pin inserted in the talus to be consistent with pre-determined positions;
• drilling the tibia via at least one proximal drilling aperture in the tibial PSI;
• and
• inserting at least one proximal pin in the tibia, wherein the at least one proximal drilling aperture corresponds to a pre-determined placement of the at least one proximal pin within the tibia.

A method for ankle arthroplasty, comprising:

• during pre-operative planning:
• evaluating relative positions of a tibia and a talus;
• and
• providing a patient-specific instrument (PSI) system including a tibial PSI designed based on the tibia and a talar PSI designed based on the talus;
• and
• during an intra-operative procedure:
• comparing the position of the tibia and talus, wherein the comparing is based on the relative positions of the tibia and the talus evaluated during the pre-operative planning, and observed positions of the tibia and the talus during the intra-operative procedure;
• coupling the tibial PSI to the tibia and the talar PSI on the talus;
• adjusting at least one of the tibia via the tibial PSI or the talus via the talar PSI;
• and
• removing the tibial PSI and the talar PSI.