# Patent

## Title
Device and methods for use during arthroscopic surgery

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of use during arthroscopic surgery. The method includes inserting a cannulated needle into a joint area of the body, inserting a guidewire through the needle, removing the needle, and inserting an arthroscopy knife into the joint area via the use of the guidewire. An arthroscopy knife and another method of its use is also disclosed.

## Background
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/246,799, filed on Sep. 27, 2011 which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/386,718, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.


BACKGROUND
Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates generally to arthroscopic surgery and, specifically to a device and methods for use during arthroscopic surgery.
Related Art
During hip arthroscopy, it is often necessary for a surgeon to use an arthroscopy knife to make incisions that will allow the surgeon to gain access to areas near the hip joint. For example, the knife may be used to detach the labrum from the acetabular rim. During the same procedure, the knife may be used to make an incision in the hip capsule. Using the knife to detach the labrum from the acetabulum has its drawbacks because the point at which the knife will exit the labrum is not known prior to making the cut. Therefore, a knife and specifically, methods of use that allow for more precision control of the knife are needed.
SUMMARY
In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method of use during arthroscopic surgery. The method includes inserting a cannulated needle into a joint area of the body, inserting a guidewire through the needle, removing the needle, and inserting an arthroscopy knife into the joint area via the use of the guidewire.
In an embodiment, the method further includes using the knife to detach a portion of the soft tissue from the bone, performing surgery on the bone, and reattaching the detached portion of the soft tissue to the bone. In another embodiment, the knife includes a proximal end and a distal end. In yet another embodiment, the distal end includes a blade and a guidewire component. In a further embodiment, the soft tissue is a labrum and the bone is an acetabulum. In yet a further embodiment, the step of inserting an arthroscopy knife into the joint area via use of the guidewire includes coupling the arthroscopy knife to the guidewire and inserting the knife into the joint area such that a blade of the knife is inserted between the soft tissue and bone. In yet an even further embodiment, coupling the arthroscopy knife to the guidewire includes inserting the guidewire through the component. In an embodiment, the method further comprises using the knife to make an incision in the hip.
In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to an arthroscopy knife. The knife includes a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end including a blade and a guidewire component.
In an embodiment, the distal end is curved. In another embodiment, the guidewire component includes a through hole.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method of use during arthroscopic surgery. The method includes inserting a cannulated needle through a first passage into a joint area of the body; inserting a guidewire through the needle; inserting an arthroscopy knife into the joint area via the use of the guidewire; and creating an incision in a capsule surrounding the joint, the incision located between the first passage and a second passage.
In an embodiment, the method further includes removing the needle after inserting the guidewire. In another embodiment, the method further includes using the knife to detach a portion of soft tissue from bone, performing surgery on the bone, and reattaching the detached portion of the soft tissue to the bone. In yet another embodiment, the knife includes a proximal end and a distal end. In a further embodiment, the distal end includes a blade and a guidewire component. In yet a further embodiment, the soft tissue is a labrum and the bone is an acetabulum. In yet a further embodiment, the step of inserting an arthroscopy knife into the joint area via use of the guidewire includes coupling the arthroscopy knife to the guidewire and inserting the knife into the joint area such that a blade of the knife is inserted between the soft tissue and bone. In an embodiment, coupling the arthroscopy knife to the guidewire includes inserting the guidewire through the component.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and together with the written description serve to explain the principles, characteristics, and features of the disclosure. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the arthroscopy knife of the present disclosure.
FIG. 1A shows an exploded view a distal end of the knife of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 2A-2E show a method of detaching a soft tissue from bone during arthroscopic surgery.
FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the hip joint while an incision is being made in the hip capsule.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the knife 10 includes a proximal end 11 and a distal end 12. The proximal end 11 is configured for being held by a user, such as a surgeon. The distal end 12 includes a blade 12a and a guidewire component 12b, the purpose of which will be further described below. The distal end 12, especially the blade 12a, may be curved, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A. Having a curved distal end 12 biases the blade 12a against a guidewire when the blade 12a is coupled to a guidewire, as is further shown in FIGS. 2A-2E and described below, which minimizes the amount of divergence between the blade 12a and the guidewire. However, a knife 10 having a non-curved distal end may also be used.
As mentioned above, one of the uses for the knife 10 is detaching soft tissue from bone. Specifically, the knife 10 is used in surgery on the hip joint 20 to detach a labrum 40 from an acetabulum 30, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, A cannulated needle 50 is disposed within the joint 20 along one of the trajectories A,B, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B. Other trajectories may be used. A guidewire 60 is then disposed through the cannulation of the needle 50 and the needle 50 is removed from the joint, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D. Subsequently, the knife 10 is inserted into the joint 20 via use of the guidewire 60. Specifically, the knife 10 is coupled to the guidewire 60 by inserting the guidewire 60 through the through hole 12b′ of the component component 12b and sliding the knife 10 along the guidewire 60 and into the joint 20, such that the blade 12a is located between the acetabulum 30 and the labrum 40, as shown in FIG. 2F. The surgeon operates the knife 10 to cut at least a portion of the labrum 40 away from the acetabulum 30, the purpose of which is to allow access to a portion or portions of the acetabulum 30 where surgery is needed. Subsequently, the knife 10 is removed and surgery on the acetabulum 30 is performed. Once surgery is completed, the detached portion of the labrum 40 is reattached to the acetabulum 30 via the use of soft tissue anchors or other fixation devices known to those of skill in the art.
FIG. 3 shows the use of the knife 10 in creating an incision in the hip capsule 70. The capsule 70 is a thick layer of soft tissue surrounding the joint 80, ie the area where the head 91 of the femur 90 is inserted into the acetabulum 30. This thick layer makes changing the trajectory of instruments placed into the joint 80 difficult. For instance, a first instrument (not shown), such as an endoscope, and a second instrument, such as the knife 10, may both be inserted through the capsule 70 and into the joint 80 via the use of separate portals or passages. In order to make the use of these instruments less difficult, an incision or slit may be made in the capsule 70 that would connect the portals and allow for less restricted movement of the instruments. This method of creating an incision in the hip capsule 70 may be used in conjunction with the above-described method of detaching soft tissue from bone. For instance, prior to cutting a portion of the labrum 40 away from the acetabulum 30, the knife 10 may be inserted into the joint area 80, as described above, and then used to create the incision between the knife portal 100 and the endoscope portal.
For purposes of clarity, FIG. 3 only shows a cross-sectional view of the hip joint 80 and the knife passage 100. While the endoscope passage is usually placed within close proximity to the knife passage 100, the endoscope passage may be created anywhere along the capsule 70 that would allow the surgeon to view the surgical area. The passage 100 may also be used for other instruments, such as an anchor delivery device, or other devices used in surgery on the hip joint 80.
For the purposes of this disclosure, the arthroscopy knife 10 is made from a metal material. However, other materials could be used. The knife 10 is made via a process known to one of skill in the art. Additionally, the knife may be used in either manner described above in a joint area other than the hip joint. Furthermore, the incision made in the capsule may be made in other manners. For example, the incision does not have to connect the portals.
As various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments, as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

## Claims

1. An arthroscopy knife comprising:
a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end including a blade, and
a guidewire component by which the knife is couplable to a guidewire wherein the guidewire component defines a longitudinal axis for receiving the guidewire,
wherein the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component intersects with the blade when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state,
whereby the guidewire component is configured to bias the blade against the guidewire when the knife is coupled to the guidewire via the guidewire component and the blade is touched to the guidewire.

2. The arthroscopy knife of claim 1 wherein the blade is curved towards the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component so as to intersect with the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state.

3. The arthroscopy knife of claim 1 wherein the guidewire component is an elongated tubular member defining a through hole for receiving the guidewire.

4. The arthroscopy knife of claim 1 wherein the knife includes a shaft extending between the proximal end and the distal end, and wherein the guidewire component is mounted directly to the shaft.

5. The arthroscopy knife of claim 4 wherein a distal region of the shaft is tapered along the longitudinal axis of the knife toward the distal end.

6. The arthroscopy knife of claim 5 wherein the guidewire component is mounted to a tapered surface of the shaft which angles the guidewire component relative to the shaft.

7. The arthroscopy knife of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component intersects with a portion of the blade proximal to a distal tip when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state.

8. The arthroscopy knife of claim 7, wherein the guidewire component is configured to bias the blade against the guidewire when the knife is coupled to the guidewire via the guidewire component and the distal tip of the blade is touched to the guidewire.

9. The arthroscopy knife of claim 1, wherein the blade is distally positioned relative to the guidewire component.

10. An arthroscopy knife comprising:
a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end including a blade, and
a guidewire component by which the knife is couplable to a guidewire wherein the guidewire component defines a longitudinal axis for receiving the guidewire,
whereby the guidewire component is configured to bias the blade against the guidewire when the knife is coupled to the guidewire via the guidewire component and the blade is touched to the guidewire, and
wherein the blade is curved towards the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component so as to intersect with the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state.

11. The arthroscopy knife of claim 10, wherein the guidewire component is an elongated tubular member defining a through hole for receiving the guidewire.

12. The arthroscopy knife of claim 10, wherein the knife includes a shaft extending between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the guidewire component is mounted directly to the shaft.

13. The arthroscopy knife of claim 12, wherein a distal region of the shaft is tapered along a longitudinal axis of the knife toward the distal end.

14. The arthroscopy knife of claim 13, wherein the guidewire component is mounted to a tapered surface of the shaft which angles the guidewire component relative to the shaft.

15. The arthroscopy knife of claim 10, wherein the blade is distally positioned relative to the guidewire component.

16. The arthroscopy knife of claim 10, wherein a distal tip of the blade is touched to the guidewire.

17. An arthroscopy system comprising:
a guidewire, and
an arthroscopy knife including:
a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end including a blade, and
a guidewire component, proximal to the blade, by which the knife is couplable to the guidewire wherein the guidewire component defines a longitudinal axis for receiving the guidewire,

wherein the guidewire component is configured such that when the arthroscopy knife is coupled to the guidewire via the guidewire component and the blade is touched to the guidewire, the guidewire component biases the blade against the guidewire, and
wherein the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component intersects with the blade when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the longitudinal axis of the guidewire component intersects with a portion of the blade proximal to a distal tip when the knife is not coupled to the guidewire and the blade is in an unbiased state.