Prosthesis (i.e. – artificial body members) – parts thereof – or ai – Implantable prosthesis – Bone
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-11
2001-03-06
Isabella, David J. (Department: 3738)
Prosthesis (i.e., artificial body members), parts thereof, or ai
Implantable prosthesis
Bone
C623S019130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06197062
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoulder prostheses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a modular shoulder prosthesis system including connectors which allow standard prosthesis stems and heads to be interconnected in various configurations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Early shoulder prostheses directly mimicked the upper portion of the humerus which they were designed to replace. That is, they were typically unitary structures including a stem, to be implanted within the humerus, and a head, to be positioned within the glenoid cavity of the scapula.
One problem with conventional unitary shoulder prostheses was the necessity of maintaining large inventories of differently configured prostheses to accommodate patients'differing anatomies. Not only were prostheses with different sizes of heads and stems required, but also prostheses with the head and stem configured at various tilt angles and radial offsets relative to one another. These various configurations were required in each size category.
To reduce the required inventory, assorted modular prostheses have been devised. Prior art modular systems have generally been designed to allow flexibility with respect to either the tilt angle or the radial offset between the head and stem. Although some of these prior art modular systems utilize either a “standard” head or a “standard” stem, most still require a plurality of either the heads or the stems to provide complete tilt angle and radial offset flexibility. None of the prior art systems provides complete tilt angle and radial offset flexibility without requiring different modular head or stem components of each given size. As a result, substantial inventories of either the stems or heads, which are the most expensive components, have had to be maintained.
Accordingly, there is a need for a modular shoulder prosthesis system which allows virtually complete flexibility of both tilt angle and radial offset adjustment while utilizing standard heads and stems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a plurality of connectors for modular shoulder prostheses, which allow virtually complete flexibility with respect to tilt angle and radial offset adjustment, while utilizing standard heads and stems. By “standard heads and stems” it is meant that, for a given size of head and stem, i.e. a head having a given diameter and a stem having a given length and thickness, the complete range of tilt angle and radial offsets can be achieved with one “standard” head and one “standard” stem, as opposed to requiring a plurality of heads or stems of the given size.
As a result of the present invention's flexibility, the required inventory of prosthesis heads and stems can be greatly reduced. This is advantageous since the heads and stems are much more expensive components of a modular system than the connectors.
Also, if revision surgery needs to be performed, in order to modify a previously implanted prosthesis, the required adjustments can be carried out by changing connectors, without having to extract the stem from the humerus.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4822370 (1989-04-01), Schelhas
patent: 4865605 (1989-09-01), Dines et al.
patent: 4919670 (1990-04-01), Dale et al.
patent: 4957510 (1990-09-01), Cremascoli
patent: 4963155 (1990-10-01), Lazzeri et al.
patent: 5080685 (1992-01-01), Bolesky et al.
patent: 5135529 (1992-08-01), Paxson et al.
patent: 5181928 (1993-01-01), Bolesky et al.
patent: 5314479 (1994-05-01), Rockwood , Jr. et al.
patent: 5358526 (1994-10-01), Tornier
patent: 5580352 (1996-12-01), Sekel
patent: 0257359 (1987-08-01), None
patent: 0797964 (1997-10-01), None
patent: 9846172 (1998-10-01), None
4-page brochure; Tornier, Inc; Aequalis Glenoid Component.
4-page brochure; Tornier, Inc; The Aequalis™ Shoulder Prosthesis.
24-page brochure; DePuy; Total Shoulder Arthroplasty System; 1995.
Howmedica Osteonics Corp.
Isabella David J.
Volpe and Koenig P.C.
LandOfFree
Modular shoulder prosthesis system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Modular shoulder prosthesis system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Modular shoulder prosthesis system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2523589