Patent ID: 6364886
Filing Date: 2002-04-02
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
Apparatus for removing portions of a bone forming part of a joint, said apparatus comprising:a router assembly comprising: a cutting head fixed to a shaft; and a shield assembly having a body portion and a hood portion, said body portion having a hole therethrough for receiving said shaft, said hood portion extending from one end of said body portion and defining a concavity in which is disposable in part said cutting head, wherein said cutting head and said shaft are provided with bores in alignment with each other and adapted to receive a guidewire therethrough, and further wherein said hood portion is provided with a hole therein alignable with said cutting head bore and adapted to receive said guidewire; and the guidewire, said guidewire extending through said shaft, said cutting head and said shield hood portion hole, said shaft, said cutting head, and said shield assembly being movable along said guidewire to advance said router assembly along said guidewire; said shaft, said shield assembly and said guidewire being flexible, and said distal end of said guidewire being adapted for positioning in a bone, whereby when said distal end of said guidewire is positioned in a bone, the router assembly may thereafter be moved along said guidewire while said joint is flexed and said guidewire is bent so as to permit the cutting head to remove any intervening bone.