Patent ID: 7935120
Filing Date: 2011-05-03
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A surgical method for preparing a knee joint to receive the components of a knee prosthesis, the knee joint includes a femur having a pair of condyles at a distal end, and a tibia having a tibial plateau at a proximal end, the method comprising the steps of: exposing the joint; resecting the distal end of the femur by cutting and removing a distal portion of the pair of condyles; prior to performing an initial resection of the tibial plateau and after resection of the distal end of the femur, making a preliminary rough cut of a posterior portion of the pair of condyles of the femur by severing and removing a piece of the posterior portion of the pair of condyles, wherein the piece of the posterior portion removed is sized to preserve enough of the posterior portion of the condyles to permit a final cut; resecting the tibia by cutting and removing a proximal portion of the tibial plateau, the step of resecting the tibia performed after the step of making a preliminary rough cut of a posterior portion of the pair of condyles of the femur; and after the step of resecting the tibia, finishing the femur by making a final cut of the posterior portion of the pair of condyles.