Spinal Implant Clearing Gouge

• US 20110028979A1
• Filed: 07/31/2009
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Warsaw Orthopedic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Warsaw Orthopedic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Schwab, Frank J.
• Application Number:
  US12/533,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20110028979A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/83
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1671 for the spine
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3209 Incision instruments

Abstract

A surgical gouge for clearing bone and soft tissue from around a previously implanted rod during a surgical operation. The gouge includes an elongate handle with a distally positioned cutting member at one end. The cutting member has a rod capture arm with an arcuate surface generally conforming to the cylindrical shape of the rod. The cutting member further having a curved leading cutting blade extending over and about the rod capture arm. The curved leading cutting blade configured so as to create a trough between the inside surface of the curved leading cutting blade and the rod capture arm to capture any cut bone and/or soft tissue from around the rod as the gouge is rotated about the rod. The curved cutting blade having a distal end sharpened at its distal edge to enable the user to cut away bone and soft tissue from around the rod. It may also be desirable for the distal end to have sharpened side edges to assist in cutting away the bone and soft tissue that have built up about the rod.

Claims

1. A gouge for clearing bone and soft tissue from about a rod which has been previously implanted within a human being, the gouge comprising:

an elongate handle at a proximal end;

a cutting member at a distal end; and

the cutting member having a rod capture arm having an arcuate surface generally conforming to the cylindrical shape of the rod, and a curved leading cutting blade extending over the rod capture arm;

such that when the rod capture arm is placed in contact with the rod and rotated about such rod toward the curved leading cutting blade the cutting blade will cut away any bone and soft tissue adjacent the rod.

2. The gouge of claim 1, wherein a trough is created between the inside surface of said curved leading cutting blade and said rod capture arm to collect any bone and soft tissue cut from about the rod.

3. The gouge of claim 2, wherein said curved leading cutting blade further comprises a leading cutting edge and sharpened side edges to allow said gouge to cut away bone and soft tissue from the rod in both radial and axial directions as the gouge is rotated about and along the rod.

4. The gouge of claim 1, wherein said arcuate surface of said rod capture arm has sharp edges on both ends of the arcuate surface to assist in cutting bone and soft tissue away from the rod as the gouge is rotated about the rod.

5. The gouge of claim 1, wherein said elongate handle has an enlarged proximal end suitable for being struck by a hammer to assist the cutting member from removing bone and soft tissue from about the rod.

6. The gouge of claim 1, wherein said elongate handle has an integral enlarged portion and said handle can receive a cylindrical weight about it proximal end, the weight can be moved axially of the handle to strike said enlarged portion to assist said cutting member in cutting bone and soft tissue away from about the rod.

7. The gouge of claim 6, wherein the weight is captured about the elongate handle between the integral enlarged portion and a removable knob at its proximal end.

8. The gouge of claim 3, wherein the cutting member is removable from the elongate handle such a plurality of cutting members can be used with said elongate handle to provide various cutting members having different configurations and shapes.

9. A gouge for clearing bone and soft tissue from about a rod which has been previously implanted within a human being, the gouge comprising:

an elongate handle at a proximal end;

a cutting member at a distal end;

the cutting member having a rod capture arm having an arcuate surface generally conforming to the cylindrical shape of the rod, and a curved leading cutting blade extending over the rod capture arm, the curved leading cutting blade having an inside surface facing said rod capture arm; and

a trough being created between said inside surface of the curved leading cutting blade and the rod capture arm;

such that when the rod capture arm is placed in contact with the rod and rotated about such rod toward the curved leading cutting blade the cutting blade will cut away any bone and soft tissue adjacent the rod, such bone and soft tissue being captured within said trough for easy removal from the surgical site.

10. The gouge of claim 9, wherein said curved leading cutting blade further comprises a leading cutting edge and sharpened side edges to allow said gouge to cut away bone and soft tissue from the rod in both radial and axial directions as the gouge is rotated about and along the rod.

11. The gouge of claim 9, wherein said arcuate surface of said rod capture arm has sharp edges on both ends of the arcuate surface to assist in cutting bone and soft tissue away from the rod as the gouge is rotated about the rod.

12. The gouge of claim 9, wherein said elongate handle has an enlarged proximal end suitable for being struck by a hammer to assist the cutting member from removing bone and soft tissue from about the rod.

13. The gouge of claim 9, wherein said elongate handle has an integral enlarged portion and said handle can receive a cylindrical weight about it proximal end, the weight can be moved axially of the handle to strike said enlarged portion to assist said cutting member in cutting bone and soft tissue away from about the rod.

14. The gouge of claim 13, wherein the weight is captured about the elongate handle between the integral enlarged portion and a removable knob at its proximal end.

15. The gouge of claim 11, wherein the cutting member is removable from the elongate handle such a plurality of cutting members can be used with said elongate handle to provide various cutting members having different configurations and shapes.

16. A method of removing bone and soft tissue from about an implanted rod within a human body, comprising:

providing a gouge having an elongate handle and a cutting member at a distal end, the cutting member having a rod capture arm having an arcuate surface generally conforming to the cylindrical shape of the rod, and a curved leading cutting blade extending over the rod capture arm; and

placing the arcuate surface of the rod capture arm onto the rod with the distal end of the curved leading cutting blade adjacent the bone and soft tissue to be removed from about the rod; and

rotating the gouge in a direction towards the distal end of the curved leading cutting blade with the arcuate surface of the rod capture arm bearing on the rod so that the curved leading cutting blade will cut an arcuate path into the bone and soft tissue surrounding the rod.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said gouge further comprises a trough provided between the inside surface of the curved leading cutting blade and the rod capture arm;

and

collecting any bone and soft tissue cut by the curved leading cutting blade in said trough for removal from the surgical site.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein after removal of any bone and soft tissue from said trough to replace the gouge back onto the rod to further cut bone and soft tissue from about the rod until all of such tissue has been removed from about the rod.