Surgery – Instruments – Orthopedic instrumentation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2001-11-20
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3732)
Surgery
Instruments
Orthopedic instrumentation
C606S205000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319257
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an inserter device assembly and, more particularly, to an inserter assembly and a method for quickly grasping and releasing a variety of sizes of surgical implants.
2. Description of the Related Art
When invertebral (spinal) discs become herniated or rupture, they are surgically removed and replaced with bone grafts to fill the invertebral space to prevent the disc space from collapsing and to promote fusion of the adjacent vertebrae across the space. For example, in the Smith-Robinson technique for cervical fusion, the surgeon prepares the end plates of the adjacent vertebral bodies to accept a graft after the disc has been removed. The end plates are generally prepared to have parallel surfaces using a high speed burr. The surgeon sculpts the graft to fit tightly between the bone surfaces so that the graft is held by compression between the invertebral bodies. The bone graft is intended to provide structural support and promote ingrowth to achieve a solid fusion of the adjacent vertebra.
To insert the graft, surgeons have used a number of surgical instruments to grasp the graft and to position the graft between the prepared parallel surfaces. Unfortunately, the surgical instruments currently used to insert the graft have exhibited a number of shortcomings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,830 issued to Farris discloses an actuator that slides over a jaw to close and open the jaw. One of the disadvantages here is that the pressure applied to the jaw is imprecise and the surgeon has to use both hands to hold the handle and the actuator to implant the graft. Further, the actuator is located close to the distal end of the instrument such that manipulation of the actuator may need to occur in the surgical wound were space is limited. Also, because of the large diameter of the actuator, it impedes the view of the surgical area. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,514 issued to Steffee, which discloses an instrument
80
in
FIGS. 4 through 7
. Here, rotating the handle causes the jaw to open and close. However, it takes a number of turns to fully open and close the jaw which wastes valuable time when time is of the essence in surgery such as this. Also, when the handle is rotated to open the jaws the jaws are not forcibly actuated into the open position by this rotation.
Therefore, there is still a need for an insertion device that can quickly grasp and release a graft with precise pressure, allow actuation of the jaws to occur at the proximal end of the instrument and at the same time does not inhibit viewing of the surgical area.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A general object of the present invention is to provide an inserter device assembly that can quickly grasp and release a surgical implant.
A general object of the present invention is provide an inserter device assembly that can quickly grasp and release a surgical implant.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inserter device assembly that can grasp a variety of sizes of surgical implants.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inserter device assembly that can be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled so that it saves time during the surgery to assemble the inserter device and later saves time disassembling the inserter device so that it can be cleaned and sterilized thoroughly.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inserter device assembly that does not obstruct the surgeon's view of the surgical area.
In general, these and other objectives are accomplished by providing the instrument with a sleeve, a shaft, and a knob. The sleeve has an opening running through the center axis. On one end of the shaft, the shaft splits into a fork to form an arc jaw, while the opposite end of the shaft is threaded. The knob has a protruding end which has an outer thread on the surface of the protruding end and an inner thread aligning with the center axis. The outer thread of the protruding end is adapted to rotatably couple to the opening on one end of the sleeve, and the inner thread of the protruding end is adapted to rotatably couple to the threaded end of the shaft. The opening on the sleeve and the protruding end are threaded such that clockwise rotation of the knob extends the knob relative to the opening on the sleeve. Furthermore, the threaded end of the shaft and the inner thread of the protruding end are threaded such that clockwise rotation of the knob retracts the shaft into the inner thread of the protruding end. The net result is that as the knob is turned clockwise, the shaft is pulled into the opening of the sleeve quickly because the knob is extending away from the sleeve and the shaft is being drawn into the protruding end of the knob at the same time.
Additionally, a surgeon can select any number of shafts with different sized jaws adapted to grasp a variety of grafts with different sizes and shapes.
The above objects may also be accomplished by a method that provides a sleeve with an opening; a shaft releasably movable within the opening of the sleeve; a bias jaw formed on one end of the shaft, the bias jaw adapted to grasp a surgical implant having a predetermined size; and an actuator releasably coupled to the other end of the shaft, wherein a first directional rotation of the actuator causes the bias jaw to retract relative to the opening of the sleeve to close the bias jaw, and counter-rotation to the first directional rotation of the actuator causes the bias jaw to protract relative to the opening of the sleeve to open the bias jaw.
Furthermore, the above objects may be accomplished by a method comprising the steps of: providing a sleeve with an opening; selecting a shaft with a jaw on one end adapted to grasp a particular sized surgical implant; inserting the shaft into the opening of the sleeve; coupling an actuator to the other end of the shaft, wherein a first directional rotation of the actuator causes the jaw to retract relative to the opening of the sleeve to close the jaw, and counter-rotation to the first directional rotation of the actuator causes the jaw to protract relative to the opening of the sleeve to open the jaw; positioning the surgical implant within the jaw, and rotating the actuator in the first directional rotation to grasp the surgical implant.
The above-described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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pa
Bruce Robert A.
Carignan Roger G.
Darrow Christopher
Kinamed, Inc.
Mancene Gene
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly
Priddy Michael B.
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