Patent ID: 9572686
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F,Y10T

Claim:
1. A system for repairing cartilage comprising: a flexible trephine having a passage extending along a longitudinal axis of the trephine, a distal end, and a proximal end, the distal end including a cutting member operable to cut a cartilage plug from a donor site, the passage operable to receive the cartilage plug, the trephine being flexible to selectively move between a first position at the donor site in which the longitudinal axis is substantially linear and a second position at an implant site in which the longitudinal axis is nonlinear; a first guide tool that is removably coupled to the trephine, the first guide tool operable to selectively move a distal end of the trephine between the first and second positions; a second guide tool including a rigid cannulated tube with a non-linear longitudinal axis, the trephine capable of being removably received within the tube to guide the trephine along the non-linear longitudinal axis as the distal end of the trephine advances in the tube from the first position to the second position; and an ejector tool that ejects the cartilage plug from the passage toward a defect site.