Distal femoral cutting guide

A system for locating a femoral cutting guide on a distal end of a left or right femur that establishes at least a first reference plane to perform a distal femoral planar cut, the system comprising:

• a mounting rod insertable into the distal end of the femur, the mounting rod having a cross-section with an anti-rotational shape;
• a bushing having an aperture corresponding to the shape of the cross-section of the mounting rod for receiving the mounting rod;
• an index member receiving the mounting rod at an offset such that the index member can be positioned to abut the distal end of the right femur in a first configuration and the distal end of the left femur in a second configuration;
• a bridge member couplable to the index member selectively in the first and second configurations;
• a cutting guide member that couples to said bridge member, said cutting guide member having a first channel that establishes the first reference plane;
• and
• one or more magnets that releasably couple said cutting guide member to said bridge member, wherein the magnets are operable to generate a sliding resistance between the bridge member and the cutting guide member that is generally overcome to position the cutting guide member relative to the femur,
• wherein the bridge member has an elongated post removably receivable into an aperture defined in a wall of the index member, the bridge member having a channel having a wall received into the first channel of the cutting guide.