Methods and apparatuses for shaping cartilage for tympanoplasty
OwnerKenneth G. Condoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system that harvests cartilage, trims the thickness of the cartilage and shapes the cartilage for reconstruction of the tympanic membrane. The system includes a punch and a template. Punch can include a handle and a plurality of interchangeable cutters having differently shaped cutting portions and a first cutting portion harvests cartilage. Template includes top template and bottom template between which harvested cartilage can be captured to trim the cartilage to a desired thickness. The punch can then be fitted with a second cutter having a desired shape, which is inserted through a pass through recess one of the templates to contact the cartilage to punch out the desired shape in the cartilage.
Claims20
A system for harvesting and shaping cartilage for tympanoplasty, comprising:
- a first cutter adapted to harvest cartilage;
- and
- a template assembly including a cartilage well adapted to receive the harvested cartilage and a thinning opening adapted to allow the harvested cartilage to be thinned to a specific predefined thickness, the template assembly further including a pass-through recess operable with a second cutter to form the thinned cartilage into a specific predefined shape.
A method of harvesting and shaping cartilage for tympanoplasty, comprising:
- harvesting cartilage from a patient with a cartilage punch, the punch having a handle and a first cutter for harvesting the cartilage;
- inserting the cartilage between a top template and a bottom template, the top template and bottom template defining a space therebetween;
- inserting a cutting tool into the space between the top template and bottom template to form a thinned cartilage portion having a specific predefined thickness;
- removing the first cutter from the punch and inserting a second cutter;
- and
- inserting the second cutter through a pass through recess in one of the top template and the bottom template to shape the thinned cartilage portion into a specific predefined shape defined by the second cutter.
A system comprising:
- means for harvesting cartilage from a patient;
- means for holding the cartilage for thinning the cartilage to a specific predefined thickness;
- and
- means for shaping the thinned cartilage into a specific predefined shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.