Surgery – Instruments – Orthopedic instrumentation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-20
2001-04-03
Reip, David O. (Department: 3731)
Surgery
Instruments
Orthopedic instrumentation
C606S062000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210414
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new type of bone fastener that is suited for implantation either in a fractured shinbone (tibia) or a fractured thighbone (femur).
2. Description of Related Art
FIGS. 7 and 8
are schematic diagrams showing the implantation of a conventional shinbone fastener
1
in a shinbone
4
. As shown, the shinbone fastener
1
is an elongated steel tube having a bent tail portion
10
, a middle portion
11
, and a frontal portion
12
. The bent tail portion
10
is formed with a pair of screw holes
131
,
132
, and the frontal portion
12
is also formed with a pair of screw holes
133
,
134
. The longitudinal axis
101
of the bent tail portion
10
is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis
111
of the middle portion
11
by a predetermined angle. This angled design is required to allow the shinbone fastener
1
to be easily inserted from the top end
41
of the shinbone
4
to the inside of the shinbone
4
.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, when the shinbone fastener
1
is implanted in position in the shinbone
4
(i.e., when the frontal portion
12
reaches the bottom end of the shinbone
4
), bolts
14
,
15
,
16
,
17
are screwed into the screw holes
131
,
132
,
133
,
134
respectively so as to secure the shinbone fastener
1
firmly in position in the shinbone
4
.
When the bolts
14
,
15
,
16
,
17
are screwed in position, they are substantially parallel to each other since all the screw holes
131
,
132
,
133
,
134
are oriented substantially in perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shinbone
4
. One drawback to this design, however, is that when the user moves on foot at fast paces, it can cause the bolts
14
,
15
,
16
,
17
to be easily loosened off position and thus cause injury to the shinbone
4
.
FIGS. 9 and 10
are schematic diagrams showing the implantation of a conventional thighbone fastener
2
in a thighbone
5
. As shown, the thighbone fastener
2
is also an elongated steel tube having a bent tail portion
20
formed with a pair of screw holes
21
,
22
which are oriented in an angled manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the thighbone
5
. As illustrated in
FIG. 9
, when the neck part
50
of the thighbone
5
suffers from fracture, a pair of elongated bolts
24
,
25
can be screwed respectively into the screw holes
21
,
22
so as to fastened the fractured neck part firmly together. Furthermore, a third screw hole
26
is formed near the top end of the thighbone fastener
2
. As illustrated in
FIG. 10
, when the main part of the thighbone
5
suffers from fracture, an elongated bolt
27
can be screwed into the screw hole
26
so as to fastened the fractured part firmly together.
One drawback to the forgoing bone fasteners, however, is that they are suited only to one kind of bone, i.e., either to the shinbone or to the thighbone, but not both, which makes the use of them quite cost-ineffective. There exists therefore a need for a new type of bone fastener that is suitable for use in shinbone and thighbone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a new type of bone fastener, which is suitable for use either on a fractured shinbone or a fractured thighbone.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a new type of bone fastener, which can provide a better fastening effect than the prior art so that it would not be loosened off position when the user moves on foot at fast paces.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a new type of bone fastener, which can be more cost-effective to manufacture.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the invention proposes a new type of bone fastener. The bone fastener of the invention comprises: (a) an elongated steel tube having a bent tail portion, a middle portion linked to the bent tail portion, and a frontal portion; the bent tail portion being angled by a predetermined angle with respect to the middle portion, and the bent tail portion and the middle portion together defining a plane which divides the steel tube into a first part and a second part; the bent tail portion being formed with a first screw hole, a second screw hole, a third screw hole, and a fourth screw hole; the first screw hole extending from the first part to the second part of the steel tube, and the second screw hole extending from the second part to the first part of the steel tube and is oriented perpendicularly with respect to the first screw hole; the third screw hole and the fourth screw hole being parallel to each other and oriented to the plane; the frontal portion being formed with a fifth screw hole and a sixth screw hole oriented in perpendicular to the fifth screw hole; and (b) a plurality of bolts selectively screwed to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and six screw holes depending on the case of either a shinbone fracture or a thighbone fracture.
In the foregoing bone fastener of the invention, since the screw holes and the bolts are oriented in a non-parallel manner, the proposed bone fastener can be hardly loosened off position when the user moves on foot at fast paces, thus providing a better fastening effect than the prior art.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4827914 (1989-05-01), Brumfield
patent: 5472444 (1995-12-01), Huebner et al.
patent: 5779705 (1998-07-01), Matthews
Reip David O.
Shoemaker and Mattare Ltd.
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