Surgical saw guide and drill guide

• US 5,413,579 A
• Filed: 05/10/1993
• Issued: 05/09/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Technology Finance Corporation (Proprietary) Limited,
• Original Assignee: Technology Finance Corporation (Proprietary) Limited,
• Inventors: Tom Du Toit, Guilluame
• Primary Examiner(s): Aschenbrenner, Peter A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tucker, Guy V.
• Application Number:
  US08/059,639
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 606/87, 606/96, 606/97, 606/98, 606/88, 606/89, 606/86, 606/53, 83/749, 83/761, 83/762, 83/782
• US Class Current: 606/87
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/15 Guides therefor arrangements for guiding straight saw blades in general B23D51/025
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1732 for bone breaking devices

Abstract

A set of surgical instruments which comprises a saw guide and a drill guide respectively for guiding a saw blade cutting a bone and for guiding a drill bit for thereafter forming a passage in the bone. The saw guide has a seat formation for seating against the bone, and a guide formation for guiding the saw. The drill guide comprises a bit guide and an anchor to align the bit guide relative to the cut. Also provided are a saw guide and a drill guide; and a method of carrying out an osteotomy procedure by making an oblique cut through a long bone at a position where bone portions which are misaligned intersect each other to provide two bone fragments, whereafter they are loosely bolted together and then rotated about the axis provided by the bolting until the misalignment is reduced, after which they are bolted tightly together.

Claims

1. A set of surgical instruments, for use in an osteotomy procedure, the set comprising:

a saw guide for guiding a saw while it makes an oblique cut in a long bone to divide it into two fragments; and

a drill guide for guiding a drill bit while it forms a passage in said bone after an initial part of said cut has been made in the bone by the saw;

said saw guide including a seat formation having a concave side for abutting a long bone to be cut, so that the long bone seats in the seat formation, and a guide formation for aligning a saw blade relative to a long bone seating in the seat formation and for guiding the saw blade while it initiates the making of the cut in the bone, the saw guide being in the form of a channel having an outer side which is convex and an interior surface which provides the concave side of the seat formation; and

said drill guide including a bit guide and an anchor connected to the bit guide for insertion into the initial part of the cut in the bone when the initial part of the cut has been made, to align the bit guide relative to the cut, the bit guide defining a guide path for receiving a drill bit and for aligning the drill bit perpendicular to the initial part of the cut while the drill bit forms the passage in the bone.

2. A set as claimed in claim 1, in which the seat formation is in the form of a channel having a longitudinal midline and an interior surface which provides the concave side of the seat formation, and an outer side, opposite the interior surface, which provides the channel with a convex side.

3. A set as claimed in claim 2, in which the guide formation is a slot in the channel for receiving a saw blade while it initiates the making of the cut in the bone, the slot extending transversely to the channel.

4. A set as claimed in claim 3, in which the slot has a midpoint, midway between its ends, which is intersected by the longitudinal midline of the channel.

5. A set as claimed in claim 3, in which there are a plurality of said saw guides each having a said seat formation in the form of a said channel, at least some of said channels each having a said slot which, when said channel is viewed from the convex side thereof in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal midline thereof, is inclined at an angle to said longitudinal midline, which angle is different from the said angles of at least some other channels forming part of the set.

6. A set as claimed in claim 3, wherein said saw guide includes a said seat formation in the form of a channel, which seat formation has a plurality of said slots therein, which slots when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal midline of the channel, are inclined at angles to said longitudinal midline which are different from one another.

7. A set as claimed in claim 2, in which the guide formation is adjustable relative to the channel, by being pivotally connected to a longitudinal extension of the channel which projects at a central position from an end of the channel, about a pivot axis which is centrally located, in line with the longitudinal midline of the channel, and which extends radially relative to the channel, the guide formation being located radially outwardly of the channel, on the convex side of the channel, and being lockable relative to the extension of the channel to prevent relative rotation therebetween, the guide formation having a groove for receiving a saw blade while it initiates the making of the cut in the bone, the groove facing and opening in the same direction as that towards which the concave side of the channel faces.

8. A set as claimed in claim 2, in which there are a plurality of said saw guides having seat formations in the form of channels, at least some of which seat formations have cross-sections of different sizes, for receiving long bones of different thicknesses.

9. A set as claimed in claim 1, in which the anchor of the drill guide is in the form of a flat anchor plate, the anchor plate being connected to the bit guide by a bridge and the guide path of the bit guide being an elongated passage through the bit guide for receiving a drill bit in its interior, the passage through the drill guide being aligned perpendicular to the anchor plate.

10. A set as claimed in claim 9, in which the bridge is an elongated stem at opposite ends of which the anchor plate and bit guide are located, the anchor plate and bit guide projecting transversely to the stem, to the same side of the stem, so that they oppose each other.

11. A set as claimed in claim 10, in which the degree to which the anchor plate projects to said side of the stem is adjustable, the anchor plate being movable relative to the stem in a direction perpendicular to the passage through the drill guide and being lockable relative to the stem to prevent relative movement therebetween.

12. A set as claimed in claim 10, in which the bridge is in the form of a straight, elongated flat planar strip, the bit guide being in the form of a post having a plurality of said bit guide passages therethrough, the anchor plate and post projecting in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the strip, and the bit guide passages being arranged in a series which extends lengthwise along the post.