Ligament tunneling instrument

• US 4,509,516 A
• Filed: 02/24/1983
• Issued: 04/09/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Original Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Inventors: Richmond, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thaler, Michael H.
• Application Number:
  US06/469,366
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 128/303 R, 128/341, 128/328
• US Class Current: 606/53
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/32 Surgical cutting instruments A61B18/042 takes precedence; suture cutters A61B17/0467; instruments for ligaturing or cutting A61B17/128; instruments for rupturing the amniotic membrane A61B17/4208; specially adapted knives for eye surgery A61F9/0133
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/0805 Implements for inserting tendons or ligaments

Abstract

There is provided a surgical tool comprising an elongated rod of arcuate shape and a handle which is alternatively releasably affixable to one end or the other end of the rod. An eyelet for receiving an end of the anterior cruciate ligament implant or graft is provided in at least one of the ends of the rod. When the handle is connected to one end of the rod, the rod can be carefully pushed through the intercondyloid fossa of the femur from the anterior side to the posterior side thereof so as to thread it around the tissues therein and adjacent thereto, whereby to form a tunnel through the knee joint. Then the handle is removed from said one end and is connected to the other end of the rod. The implant is extended through the eyelet and then the rod is pulled through and beyond the posterior side whereby to draw the implant through the tunnel.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument for inserting an anterior cruciate ligament implant through the intercondyloid fossa of the femur, comprising:

an elongated rod and a handle attached to one end of said rod and extending transversely thereto so that the tool has the overall shape of the letter T, said rod being of circular cross section and being of arcuate shape in plan view so that said rod curves away from said handle in a direction toward the opposite end of said rod, said rod having substantially identical end portions at the opposite ends theeof, each of said end portions being of substantially rectangular cross section defined by two flat parallel side walls, an upper wall and a bottom wall, said side walls being laterally inwardly offset from the surface of said rod, said upper wall having a cavity therein, each of said end portions having an eyelet opening extending between and through said side walls, each of said eyelet openings being adapted to receive therethrough the end of an anterior cruciate ligament implant, the tips of said end portions being of smoothly rounded conical shape having a rounded apex so that said rod can be pushed through the intercondyloid fossa of the femur whereby to form a tunnel between the ligaments present in that portion of the knee joint, said handle being cylindrical and comprising an elongated main handle part and a locking part, said main handle part having a through-hole of substantially rectangular cross section between its upper and lower ends for slidably receiving one or the other of said end portions of said rod so that said handle cannot rotate with respect to said rod, said main handle part having an internally threaded recess opening through the upper side thereof and having a passage aligned with said cavity and extending between the upper side of said through-hole and the bottom of said internally threaded recess, said locking part having an externally threaded boss extending from its lower end and threaded into said internally threaded recess, and a pin extending downwardly from the lower end of said boss and extending through said passage into said cavity for releasably securing said handle to said rod, said handle being reversible from one end portion of said rod to the other end portion of said rod so that when said handle is releasably attached to one end portion of said rod, said rod can be pushed from the anterior side to the posterior side through the intercondyloid fossa of the femur to form said tunnel and then said handle can be detached from said one end portion of the rod and attached to the other end portion of the rod, the end of the anterior cruciate ligament implant can be passed through said eyelet opening in said one end portion of said rod and then said rod can be pulled through and beyond the posterior side of the intercondyloid fossa of the femur whereby said implant is moved through the tunnel to a location close to the posterior side of the lateral condyle of the femur.

2. A surgical instrument, comprising:

an elongated, substantially rigid rod which is of arcuate shape in plane view, said rod having end portions at opposite ends thereof and a central portion extending between said end portions, said central portion having the cross-sectional shape of a closed smooth curve, said end portions being of reduced thickness relative to the thickness of said central portion and having an out-of-round cross section, each of said end portions having an eyelet therein extending transversely therethrough, the tips of each of said end portions being smoothly rounded so that said rod can be pushed through a joint in the human body, either end first, whereby to form a tunnel between the body tissue in and around that joint, each of said end portions having handle-attaching means thereon, and a handle releasably fixedly securable to said handle-attaching means on either of said end portions, said handle having a through-hole of out-of-round cross section and sized to slidably receive said end portions so that said handle cannot rotate with respect to said rod when said handle is mounted on one of said end portions.

3. A surgical instrument, comprising:

an elongated, substantially rigid rod which is of arcuate shape in plan view, said rod having end portions at opposite ends thereof and a central portion extending between said end portions, said central portion having the cross-sectional shape of a closed smooth curve, said end portions being of reduced thickness relative to the thickness of said central portion, said end portions of said rod being of substantially identical size and structure, each of said end portions having two parallel flat side walls which are laterally inwardly offset from the wall of said central portion of said rod, said side walls being connected by upper and lower walls so that said end portions are substantially rectangular in cross section, each of said end portions having an eyelet opening therein extending between and through said side walls, the tips of each of said end portions being of smoothly rounded conical shape having a rounded apex so that said rod can be pushed through a joint in the human body, either end first, whereby to form a tunnel between the body tissue in and around that joint, each of said end portions having handle-attaching means thereon, and a handle releasably fixedly securable to said handle-attaching means on either of said end portions, said handle extending at a right angle to said rod and having between its ends a through-hole of substantially rectangular cross section for slidably receiving one of said end portions so that said handle cannot rotate with respect to said rod when said handle is mounted on one of said end portions.

4. A surgical instrument as claimed in claim 3 in which each of said end portions has a cavity in the upper wall thereof, and said handle comprises a main handle part and a locking part, said main handle part having said through-hole extending therethrough between its upper and lower ends, a passage extending upwardly from the upper side of said through-hole and communicating with an internally threaded recess in the upper end of said main handle part, said locking part having an externally threaded boss extending from its lower end and adapted to be threaded into said internally threaded recess, and a pin extending downwardly from the lower end of said boss and adapted to extend through said passage into said cavity for releasably securing said handle to said rod.