Surgery – Instruments – Orthopedic instrumentation
Patent
1999-03-02
2000-08-01
Buiz, Michael
Surgery
Instruments
Orthopedic instrumentation
606 79, A61B 1700
Patent
active
060960426
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a single handed power driver with integral shield mechanism for drilling and inserting fasteners such as screws and the like.
The invention has been developed primarily for use in orthopaedic surgery and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not necessarily limited to this particular field of use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Orthopaedic surgery often involves the joining of two or more segments of a bone. This join is usually accomplished by bolting, screwing or wiring the segments directly together, or bolting, screwing or wiring the segments to a common plate or other intermediate joining member. It is normally necessary to use some form of powered driver to drive a drill bit, screws, Kirschner wire or other device or implement into the bone to facilitate the join.
The positioning of the bolts, screws or wires in the bone is extremely critical for the integrity of the joint and the subsequent healing process. Accordingly, in addition to the usual complications and stress generally associated with overall patient well being in surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon also has to ensure the driver is very accurately positioned. This is difficult as it often requires holding the bone segments to be fixed in an exact orientation whilst simultaneously aiming, supporting and operating the driver.
To assist in overcoming these problems, a separately supportable drill guide plate or similar is initially positioned adjacent the bone or prosthesis being drilled in order to ensure that the drill bit or similar passes into the bone at the desired location and on the desired course. Ideally, the guide plate also serves to minimise damage to the soft tissue surrounding the bone which may get caught by the rotating drill bit, screw or wire.
It will be appreciated that the above procedure requires the surgeon to hold in position the fragments to be fixed whilst simultaneously using the power drill and positioning and holding the drill guide. Clearly, this is something that is difficult, if not impossible to achieve with any accuracy with only two hands, so often the surgeon has to depend on the help of an assistant. However, this is not only labour intensive but is rarely satisfactory, as the assistant is not generally in a position to maintain or judge correct alignment and their presence may even restrict access to and/or sight of the surgical opening.
To further complicate matters, the prior art procedures often require use of a separate tool to increase and/or determine the depth of travel of the drill or other driven member.
It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of these deficiencies of the prior art or at least offer a useful alternative thereto.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a compact single unit driver with integral shield device for use on a body or body part in orthopaedic surgery or the like, the driver including: proximal end of a longitudinally extending driven member; connected with an end of the housing so as to extend co-axially with and circumscribe said driven member, the distal end of said shield means terminating in an end portion adapted to be placed against a surface of the body part into which or toward which the member is to be driven; and engagement means associated with said housing and said end portion for advancement into or toward said surface or body part and retraction therefrom so that, in use, single handedly, the rotating engagement means and portion of said driven member above said surface of said body part are always fully shrouded by means of the housing and/or the shield means.
By reference herein to an integral shield device it is meant simply that the shield device forms a permanent part of the driver as a whole. As such the shield need not necessarily be integrally formed with the housing, but may be separately manufactured and captively retain
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patent: 3835858 (1974-09-01), Hagen
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patent: 5030222 (1991-07-01), Calandruccio
patent: 5351586 (1994-10-01), Habermehl
patent: 5409493 (1995-04-01), Greenberg
patent: 5505737 (1996-04-01), Gosselin et al.
patent: 5554154 (1996-09-01), Rosenberg
patent: 5667509 (1997-09-01), Westin
Surgical Instruments Appliances & Hospital Equipment, 1930 edition (Allen & Hansburys Ltd) "Fracture Operation Instruments". pp. 590-593, Apr. 1931.
Buiz Michael
Ngo Lien
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