Anterior Ankle Approach System Minimizes Bone Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ankle joint treatment options, such as total ankle replacement, require excessive bone removal, leading to increased recovery time and surgical complications.
Innovation Solution
A method for ankle replacement involving an anterior cut in a bone and forming a stem hole using a plurality of broaches, followed by inserting and coupling a stem implant, which is then impacted into place using an offset impactor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hole is drilled from the bottom of the talus through the talus and into the tibia to insert implants, then the implant can be inserted into the tibia, but excessive bone removal from the talus is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional surgical approach by accessing the tibia through an anterior cut and forming a stem hole in the distal end of the tibia, rather than drilling from the talus downward. This allows the tibial implant to be inserted through the tibia without requiring excessive bone removal from the talus, thus resolving the contradiction between reliable implant insertion and minimizing bone loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the problematic step of drilling through the talus entirely. By forming a stem hole only in the distal end of the tibia through an anterior approach and using broaches to create the hole, the method removes the need to drill through and remove excessive bone from the talus, while still achieving reliable implant insertion into the tibia.
2Reliability
If a hole is drilled from the bottom of the talus through the talus and into the tibia to insert implants, then the implant can be inserted into the tibia, but recovery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the surgical approach to access the tibia anteriorly and form the stem hole in the distal end without drilling through the talus, the procedure reduces surgical trauma and bone damage. This leads to faster healing and reduced recovery time while maintaining reliable implant insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The method performs preliminary preparation by forming the stem hole in the distal end of the tibia before inserting the implant. This preliminary action, achieved through an anterior approach with broaches, prepares the bone bed in advance, reducing surgical complexity and recovery time while ensuring reliable implant placement.
3Reliability
If a hole is drilled from the bottom of the talus through the talus and into the tibia to insert implants, then the implant can be inserted into the tibia, but surgical complications increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inverted approach of accessing the tibia through an anterior cut and forming a stem hole in the distal end eliminates the need to drill through the talus. This avoids the harmful effects of excessive bone removal, reduces surgical trauma, and minimizes complications such as talus damage, nerve injury, and infection, while still achieving reliable implant insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the problematic drilling-through-talus step from the surgical procedure. By forming the stem hole solely in the distal end of the tibia through an anterior approach, the method removes the source of many surgical complications associated with talus drilling, while maintaining reliable implant insertion capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of ankle replacement includes forming an anterior cut in a bone and forming a stem hole in a distal end of the bone. The stem hole is formed using a plurality of broaches positioned against the distal end of the bone through the anterior cut. A first portion and a second portion of a stem implant are inserted into the stem hole through the anterior cut in the bone. The first portion is coupled to the second portion using a coupling device inserted through the anterior cut in the bone. The stem implant is impacted into the stem hole using an offset impactor.