Prosthetic implant and surgical tool

Abstract

The invention relates to a prosthetic implant comprising a main body portion having a first surface for presentation to a receptive bone surface or into a bone cavity and a second surface for receipt of an articulating joint, and means on the implant adapted for attachment of a filamentary member, such as a cable. The invention also relates to a surgical tool for gripping the implant, comprising an elongate body having a first end surface for bearing on the prosthetic implant and means for attachment of the tool to the implant, directly or indirectly by means of the cable.

Description

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001] The present invention relates to a prosthetic implant and to a surgical tool for gripping the prosthetic implant during a surgical procedure.2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002] The replacement of all or a part of the bone surface of an articulation with a prosthetic implant has become a common surgical procedure. The procedure requires the surgeon to exercise both precision and delicacy in the placement of the prosthetic implant. However, it is frequently necessary for the surgeon also to exercise a degree of force, sometimes a vigorous force, in order to situate the prosthetic implant in a desired location on the bone surface.[0003] For example, in an operation to insert a prosthetic acetabulum in a patient's pelvis the surgeon first uses a reamer to grind a cavity of appropriate size in the patient's pelvis. The surgeon then inserts an acetabular cup into the cavity. By "appropriate size" is meant a size which is selected by the surgeon as being th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

0067] When a protective cover is used in the implant of the invention, there is no necessity to manufacture surgical tools of different sizes to correspond to different sizes of acetabular cup or sheath. It is sufficient that the protective cover comprise a receiving area for the surgical tool. When a tensioned cable is used to grip the prosthetic implant the attachment provided is robust in lateral and axial directions, whilst allowing the surgeon to retain good visibility of the implant during the surgical procedure.

0068] When a tensioned cable is used to effect direct attachment between the implant and the tool, the surgeon is allowed not only a good degree of rotational and axial control over the implant whilst inserting the implant, but also the surgeon is able to extract the implant if he is not satisfied with its orientation after initial insertion.

0069] When any of the embodiments of the invention are applied to the implantation of a prosthetic acetabular cup comprising a polyethylene unit and a metal shell, it is not necessary for the polyethylene liner unit to be snapped or screwed into the metal shell after it has been seated in the acetabulum. A result of this is that the polyethylene liner unit may be factory fitted reducing the risk of damage to the unit during fitting.

Problems solved by technology

This feature cannot impinge upon the outside of the metal shell because the insertion tool may then become trapped between the shell and the bone.

As a result it is often not strong enough for the impaction forces applied.

This often results in damage to the insertion tool, or metal shell or both.

With this type of cup the inner hemisphere is not a convenient place to locate a mechanical feature for the insertion tool to grip on.

First, it would reduce the surface area of the prosthetic articulation.

Secondly, it could cause damage to the highly polished concave metal against which the ball of the patient's femur or the ball head of a femoral prosthesis is to bear.

Therefore, the provision of means for attaching an insertion tool to a prosthetic implant so that the attachment is sufficiently robust to withstand the impaction and other forces to which it may be subject during insertion of the prosthesis and yet which does not compromise the structural strength or the articulating properties of the prosthesis itself remains a problem in the art.

Another disadvantage of conventional tools is that they must be manufactured in a range of different sizes to receive acetabular cups or sheaths of the different sizes referred to above.

The difficulty of gripping and positioning prosthetic implants applies not only to acetabular implants but more generally to implants such as the tibial and femoral components of a prosthetic knee.

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