Method of securing a prosthesis using cement spacers

Abstract

A prosthetic cement spacer for controlling the thickness of cement applied between a prosthetic insert and a support member, such as an acetabulum, includes a generally cylindrical standoff body portion fabricated from acrylic bone cement and a pointed wire concentric with said standoff body and outwardly extending from one end a sufficient length to anchor into the acetabulum bone surface. The method of use of these prosthetic cement spacers involves preparation of the acetabulum so that there is sufficient clearance space for the prosthetic cement spacers and then to insert the pointed wires into the acetabulum bone surface in an equilateral triangular arrangement thereby providing three points of contact for the prosthetic insert, such as an acetabular cup. By selecting three prosthetic cement spacers all having substantially the same standoff body height, the clearance region between the acetabulum bone surface and the acetabular cup is controlled and provides a uniform cement thickness throughout thereby providing an improved bonding arrangement.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.