Dynamic wrist fixation apparatus for early joint motion in distal radius fractures

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus for fixating a patient's joint that has a natural flexion comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between an end portion of the first rod member and an end portion of the second rod member, the coupler having an initial position and being biased to return to the initial position after the patient flexes the joint;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) first and second clamps for forming an interface between the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod sections and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamps to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions:
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between respective end portions of the rod members wherein the flexible shaft coupler can both angulate and elongate;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod sections and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamp to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between respective end portions of the rod members wherein the flexible coupler comprises a pair of rigid end portions each having a bore and a flexible spring section that is affixed to the respective rigid end portions, the combination of the rigid end portions and spring section having a common open-ended bore that receives the rod ends during use;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod sections and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamp to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus for fixating a joint that has a natural axis of rotation comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between an end portion of the first rod member and an end portion of the second rod member wherein the coupler is configured to generally align the rod members so that an end portion of one rod member abuts and engages an end portion of the other rod member, the coupler having an initial position and being biased to return to the initial position after the patient flexes the joint;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod members and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamps to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between respective end portions of the rod members and that generally aligns the rod members so that an end portion of one rod member abuts and engages an end portion of the other rod member;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone pars at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) bone clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod sections and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamp to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction;
• and
• f) wherein rod member end portions abut each other during angulation of the flexible shaft coupler.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus comprising:

• a) a first rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a second rod member having end portions, the two rods being positioned end-to-end during use, with respective rod end portions abutting, the abutting portions being configured to make contact and prevent loss of distraction of the wrist joint so that the length of the radius is maintained;
• c) a flexible shaft coupler that forms a connection between an end portion of the first rod member and an end portion of the second rod member;
• d) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• e) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod members and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamps to conform to the natural flexion joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus for fixating a joint that has a natural flexion comprising:

• a) a rod member having a pair of opposed end portions and a mid-portion that is flexible;
• b) a flexible coupler that forms a connection between respective end portions of the rod member;
• c) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible coupler;
• and
• d) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod members, wherein the combination of the rod member and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamps to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus for fixating a joint that has a natural flexion comprising:

• a) a rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a flexible spring coupler with a bore that forms a connection to the rod member at the bore;
• c) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible spring coupler;
• and
• d) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod member, wherein the combination of the rod member and flexible shaft coupler enable the clamps to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.

An orthopaedic fixation apparatus comprising:

• a) a flexible rod member having a pair of opposed end portions;
• b) a coupler that extends along the rod to form a connection between respective end portions of the rod member the coupler having an initial position and being biased to return to the initial position after the patient flexes the joint;
• c) a plurality of bone pins for forming connections to first and second bone parts at spaced apart positions generally on opposite sides of the flexible shaft coupler;
• and
• d) clamps for forming an interface in between each of the bone pins and the rod, wherein the combination of the flexible rod and coupler enable the bone clamps to conform to the natural flexion of the joint to avoid possibilities of bone fragment displacement or loss of fracture reduction.