Abstract:
A shoulder prosthesis having a head and an elongate stem portion including a proximal end connected to the head, a distal section for insertion into a medullary canal of a humeral bone and an alignment section disposed between the proximal end and distal section. The alignment section includes a plurality of reference marks positioned to facilitate placement of the prosthesis in the bone at a previously-determined position.

Description:
This invention relates generally to bone prostheses and more particularly to a shoulder prosthesis. 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/040,504, filed Mar. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,555. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When a joint, such as the hip or shoulder, becomes impaired due to arthritis, disease or trauma, it is sometimes necessary to replace all or part of the joint with a prosthesis to restore function. For instance, hip replacement, where a prosthesis is provided to replace the femoral head and in some cases all or part of the acetabulum, has become a common procedure to treat femoral head fractures and arthritis in elderly patients. As a result of anatomical constraints and challenges in the shoulder, shoulder implants have historically been much less successful and less common than hip replacements. Recently, however, shoulder arthroplasty has emerged as an accepted treatment for severe arthritis and humeral head fractures. 
     As a consequence of the increasing acceptance of shoulder prostheses, many different devices have been developed to address various problems that have arisen and to offer additional benefits and features. In the simplest form, a shoulder prosthesis is formed as a single piece with a head to articulate with the glenoid cavity, and a stem to extend down the medullary canal of the humerus and support the head. While simple to construct, unitary implants do not offer any adjustability to accommodate the natural variations in size and geometry that occur among joints of different patients. To accommodate these variations, a large stock of devices must be manufactured and maintained to insure that an adequate match can be achieved during an operation. Stocking the large number of devices is a significant expense with one-piece designs, and in some cases a surgeon may not be provided with sufficient flexibility to achieve an ideal fit to the patient. 
     To avoid the expense of maintaining a large stock of single-piece prosthetics and to provide increased flexibility to surgeons, many shoulder implant makers have gone to a modular design that is assembled during the operation from two or three pieces. These pieces include a head to articulate with the glenoid and a stem structure on which the head is mounted and secured to the bone. In some cases, the stem includes a separate body portion disposed between the head and an intermedullary portion of the stem that extends down the medullary canal. By utilizing a modular design, a wide variety of devices can be assembled from only a few pieces, thus providing increased flexibility to accommodate anatomical variation and eliminating much of the cost associated with maintaining a large selection of one-piece devices. 
     One drawback of existing modular implants is the difficulty of reliably and easily attaching the pieces together. With existing designs, the pieces are most commonly held together with a taper-lock structure. In particular, the backside of the head is provided with a male or female taper, and a mating structure is provided on the top of the stem. After selecting the appropriate components, the surgeon places the head on the stem and drives the pieces together to lock them in place. Unfortunately, because the components are held together only by friction, it is possible for them to become loosened or dislocated after installation, in which case another operation must be performed to restore the implant. 
     Another drawback with taper-lock modular designs is that it can be difficult to disassemble an implant and install a new head without removing the stem from the bone. In particular, it is often difficult to impart enough force to the head to separate the taper-lock without dislodging the stem from the bone at the same time. Moreover, to be removed, the head must be lifted away from the stem by the length of the taper and, thus, the joint must be dislocated to permit the necessary separation. As a result, the recovery time is greatly extended over what would be required if dislocation were not necessary. 
     Another common feature of many existing taper-lock designs is a proximal flange attached to the top of the stem adjacent the head. This flange prevents the implant from subsiding down into the femur and avoids the resulting upward force on the bottom of the head which would tend to separate the taper lock. Unfortunately, over time, bony ingrowth can occur around the underside of the flange and the sides of the stem. Although this bony ingrowth is beneficial in that it helps to stabilize the implant, it also makes the implant much more difficult to remove when a revision is necessary. In particular, the flange blocks the surgeon from slipping a chisel down the bone adjacent the sides of the implant to separate the implant from the bone. As a result, a significant amount of bone may be dislodged with the implant, making it more difficult to secure the replacement implant. 
     The flanges used on many implants are also problematic because they decrease the thickness available for the head. The natural humeral head is typically 16-18 mm thick. Typical flanges are around 3 mm thick and, with a taper-lock device, a gap of approximately 2 mm must be left between the bottom of the head and the collar to accommodate the machining tolerances in the taper. As a result, the implant head is often significantly thinner than the original anatomy. This can limit joint mobility and increase the chance of dislocation. 
     In addition to the specific drawbacks associated with various existing implant designs, there are a number of general problems inherent in shoulder replacements. In particular, it is generally difficult to establish the proper position and orientation for the implant in the humerus. One of the more important variables is the rotational position, or retroversion, of the head on the humerus. Anatomically, the average retroversion between a plane defined by the perimeter of the anatomical head and the axis of the flexed forearm is approximately 30-degrees. Unfortunately, with existing implants and techniques for their installation, it has been very difficult to reliably reproduce desired retroversion. Establishing correct retroversion is important because incorrect retroversion can lead to problems with subsequent dislocation. 
     In addition to the retroversion of the implant, it is necessary to establish the correct height of the implant on the humeral shaft. With existing designs, the surgeon slips the stem into the medullary canal and makes an educated guess at the proper height. Excess height may create too much tension in the deltoid, while inserting the implant too far down the humerus can result in deltoid lag. Similarly, the offset of the face of the head relative to the stem must be established correctly or excess or insufficient tension in the rotator cuff may be created. Unfortunately, with existing designs there is no way to evaluate implant height or head offset prior to final installation, after which correction is difficult. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a shoulder prosthesis having a head and an elongate stem portion including a proximal end connected to the head, a distal section for insertion into a medullary canal of a humeral bone and an alignment section disposed between the proximal end and distal section. The alignment section includes a plurality of reference marks positioned to facilitate placement of the prosthesis in the bone at a previously-determined position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a modular shoulder implant constructed according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a modular shoulder implant kit constructed according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a shaft of the implant of FIG.  1 . 
     FIGS. 4-9 are various views of a body portion of the implant of FIG.  1 . 
     FIGS. 10-13 are various views of a head portion of the implant of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the backside of the head of FIGS. 10-13. 
     FIG. 15 is an isometric view of the head partially installed on the body. 
     FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the implant along line  8 — 8  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 17 is a medial elevational view of the implant of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 18 is an isometric view of a targeting/installation instrument according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 19 is a lateral elevational view of the targeting/installation instrument of FIG.  10 . 
     FIG. 20 is an elevational view from above of the targeting installation instrument of FIG.  18 . 
     FIG. 21 is an isometric view of the implant of FIG. 1 in an assembled configuration. 
     FIG. 22 is a side elevational view of an implant showing reference marks. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A shoulder implant constructed according to the present invention is shown generally at  10  in FIG.  1 . Implant  10  includes a head  12  and a stem  14 . The stem preferably includes a distal shaft  16  and a body  18 . The components making up implant  10  are preferably chosen from a kit  20  of interchangeable shafts, bodies and heads, as shown in FIG.  2 . By selecting an appropriate shaft, body and head from kit  20 , a surgeon is able to create an implant that is sized properly for almost any patient. It should be noted that positional references such as anterior/posterior, medial/lateral and proximal/distal used herein are made with reference to an implant as it would be positioned in a patient. 
     Shaft  16  is shown in greater detail in FIG.  3  and includes a proximal tapered end  30  extending distally to a shoulder  32  which tapers smoothly into a cylindrical medial region  34  with distal locking holes  36 ,  38 . As can be seen in FIG. 2, the shaft can have a medial region of varying diameter and/or varying length. Generally speaking, the longer shafts are used where there is a mid-shaft fracture in addition to the proximal trauma. The varying diameter short shafts are used to accommodate size variations in the proximal end of the humerus. Either or both of holes  36 ,  38  may be elongated to allow for movement of the medial region over the locking screws. This is normally desirable when the implant is used to treat a combined mid-shaft fracture. 
     A rounded and tapered distal tip  40  is formed on the end of medial region  34 . Shaft  16  preferably includes a central canulation  42  which can be used to guide the implant into the humerus with the aid of a guide wire. As best shown in FIG. 1, an alignment notch  44  is formed in shoulder  32  to aid in establishing the correct orientation of the body on the shaft, as will be described below. A threaded hole  46  is formed in tapered end  30  to receive a screw  50  which is used to draw the body firmly onto the tapered end. A wiring hole  48  is provided just distal of shoulder  32  to allow tension band wiring to be secured through the implant. In addition, when the implant is to be cemented in place, a K-wire can be driven through humerus and hole  48  to fix the position of the implant while the cement cures. 
     As indicated in FIG. 1, body  18  mounts to the top of shaft  16 . Referring to FIGS. 4-9, body  18  has a distal end  54  with a cylindrical tapering socket  56  extending upwardly therefrom into the body. Socket  56  is sized to receive tapered end  30  of shaft  16  and taper-lock thereto to allow the body to be securely mounted to the shaft. A proximal bore  58  extends from the socket to the top of the body to the previously discussed screw to engage the top of the shaft to draw it into the socket. A small rib  60  is provided in the bore to engage against the head of the screw. 
     A small finger  62  projects down from the distal end of body  18  adjacent the socket to engage alignment notch  44  as the body is installed on the shaft. See FIGS. 1 and 17. This ensures the proper rotational positioning of the body on the shaft so that the various holes in the shaft are oriented correctly. Body  18  further includes a lateral rib  64  with three suture holes  66  which aid in securing the fracture fragments to the implant. Upper and lower medial suture holes  68 ,  70  are also provided in body  18  to offer additional options in securing the fragments. A medially-positioned, anteriorly-oriented threaded hole  72  is formed in body  18  to receive a screw for securing the head to the body. Hole  72  also serves as a mounting point for a targeting/installation instrument used with the implant. A recess  74  is located at the top of the hole and includes a keying notch  76  for orienting the targeting/installation instrument. See FIGS. 1 and 4. The recess allows the screw head to install substantially flush with the surface of the body to minimize the amount of bone removal required to insert the stem into the humerus. 
     Body  18  includes a medially-facing inclined mounting surface  80  at the proximal end onto which head  12  is mounted. Head  12  is secured to body  18  by coupling structure  82  which includes a fitting in the form of a pedestal or dovetail  84  located on mounting surface  80 . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, dovetail  84  is tapered from anterior to posterior to establish a taperlock with the head, as will be described below. Because the dovetail is tapered, the body has a left or right orientation depending on which shoulder is to be replaced. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, the kit will preferably include two or more bodies. Additional bodies, over and above one left and one right, may be provided to accommodate different stem diameters or head angles, etc. 
     Head  12 , which is preferably formed as a unitary member, as opposed to being assembled from two or more components, includes a generally semi-spherical articulation surface  90  which is adapted to engage the glenoid cavity in the shoulder. See FIGS. 10-13. Because the glenoid cavity does not define a close fitting socket, such as found in the acetabulum in the hip joint, the articulation surface only needs to be sufficiently spherical to allow smooth articulation in the glenoid cavity. 
     As best shown in FIG. 14, articulation surface  90  is bounded by an articular margin  92  which defines an articular plane  94  generally normal to a head axis  96 . In the preferred embodiment, where the head is substantially spherical, the head axis represents a central axis of rotational symmetry for the articulation surface and a center of curvature  98  lies on the head axis. See FIG.  11 . As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 13, the various heads are preferably formed with the same radius, but simply represent larger portions of a sphere. It is believed that this best reflects the actual anatomical characteristics. 
     In the most commonly occurring fracture pattern, the anatomic head fractures generally through the articular margin and plane. The articular plane defines generally the distal extent of head  12 . This is important when it is necessary to remove the head as part of a revision procedure, because the present invention allows the head to be removed from an anterior direction without dislocation of the joint and the associated trauma. This is not the case with existing implant heads, which cannot be separated from the body for removal without first dislocating the joint. It is desirable, although not required, that the head not project substantially beyond the articular plane in the present invention so that it is possible to slide the head out of the joint in an anterior direction without disruption of the surrounding bone. Because the remainder of the humerus is distal to the articulation plane, the head may be slid out in that plane without disruption of the surrounding bone as long as the head does not project substantially beyond the articular plane. Thus, the coupling structure is adapted to allow the head to be installed on and removed from the stem without dislocating the shoulder after the implant has been installed in the shoulder. 
     Head  12  includes a mounting surface or backside  100  disposed opposite the articulation surface and separated from the articulation surface by the articular margin. Backside  100  includes a portion of coupling structure  82  in the form of a transverse track or undercut channel  102 . Channel  102  is cut to match the cross-sectional shape and taper of dovetail  84  and includes an open end  104  and an inner end  106 . A cylindrical recess  108  extends from the perimeter of the head past the inner end of the channel and to a stop  110 . A groove  112  is formed in recess  108  near the edge of the head. 
     The channel is sized so that the head is guided onto the body and the dovetail taperlocks in the channel when the head is properly positioned. See FIG.  10 . The taperlock connection is important because it rigidly secures the components and prevents them from fretting against each other and generating debris over time. The coupling structure of the present invention may also be described as a transversely acting taper lock, with a portion of the taper lock being disposed on the head and a portion disposed on the body. The taper lock of the present invention is transverse acting in that it does not rely on motion along the axis of the head to lock, contrary to existing designs. In fact, it can be seen that, when the head is engaged on the stem, the coupling structure mechanically interlocks the head against motion transverse to the articular plane. This is in contrast to existing designs, which simply rely on a frictional interconnection in the direction transverse to the articular plane. 
     A locking member in the form of a screw  114  is provided to draw the head firmly onto the body to properly seat the taperlock. In particular, after head  12  is initially positioned on the body, as shown in FIG. 15, it is slid generally into position and screw  114  is installed into hole  72  with the head of the screw fitting closely into cylindrical recess  108 . See FIG.  16 . As the screw is driven in, the head of the screw engages stop  110  to pull head  12  firmly onto body  18 . Screw  114  also serves as a backup interlock to insure that the head does not become dislodged. It should be noted that the head of the screw will not seat completely against the body because some space must be left to accommodate machining tolerances in the coupling structure so that the taper lock may be drawn tight in all cases. 
     When it is necessary to remove the head, as in a revision, a tool  120  with a flange  122  secured near the tip of the tool is utilized. See FIG.  16 . The tip of the tool is initially installed in the screw head from a slight angle away from the head and then the tool is rotated toward the head to engage the flange with taper breaking surface in the form of a groove  112  formed in recess  108 . As the screw is backed out, the flange pulls against the head to dislodge the taperlock. Thus, the head can be removed with application of external force to the implant, as has been required with prior designs. This reduces the chance that the entire implant will be loosened when only the head needs to be removed. 
     Installation of the implant of the present invention is facilitated by a targeting/installation instrument, shown generally at  130  in FIG.  18 . Instrument  130  includes a template member  132  to which are mounted a mounting bar  134 , a height adjusting mechanism  136  and a retroversion guide  138 . Mounting bar  134  serves to join template member  132  to implant  10 . In particular, bar  134  is hollow and includes a tab  140  (not shown) at the free end. The bar receives a bolt  142  with a head  144  and a threaded end  146 . To attach the instrument to the implant, the free end of the bar is placed in recess  74  and aligned so that tab  140  fits into keying notch  76 . This establishes the correct alignment between the template and the implant. The threaded end of the bolt is then screwed into hole  72  to secure the instrument to the implant. The bar includes a flat  148  to allow the bar to reach body  18  without engaging head  12 . In addition, it should be noted that the screw which secures the head to the body is not installed until after the instrument is removed. 
     Once the instrument is mounted to the implant, the stem is inserted into the shaft of the humerus. In the typical fracture pattern, the head and greater and lesser tubercles are separated from the remainder of the humerus, leaving a pipe-like upper shaft. As a result, there is no remaining reference for the correct height of the implant head relative to the top of the humeral shaft. It is important to position the head at the correct height relative to the humeral shaft to avoid excess tension on the deltoid muscle by having the head too high or deltoid lag where the head is too low and the deltoid must undergo some contraction prior to starting to move the arm. 
     The height adjusting mechanism allows the surgeon to temporarily set the height of the head and then evaluate the deltoid tension. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, height adjusting mechanism  136  includes a guide bar  150  which is moveably mounted to a carriage  152 , which is driven up and down along a threaded rod  154 . With the implant in a humeral shaft  156 , the guide bar is positioned to sit on top  158  of the humeral shaft. The surgeon can then adjust the implant up or down by turning the threaded rod. The guide bar establishes a predetermined height, which can be maintained while retroversion is set and even if the implant is removed and reinserted, as when bone cement is used. 
     After establishing the correct height the surgeon can use the retroversion guide to set correct retroversion, as shown in FIG.  20 . The retroversion guide includes an L-shaped rod  160  with a lower sighting arm  162 . Rod  160  is pivotally and slidably mounted to template  132  to allow the height and angular orientation of the sighting arm to be adjusted. A set screw  164  allows the position of the rod to be fixed once it is in the desired orientation. In use, the sighting arm is set for a predetermined retroversion angle relative to the head axis, for instance 30-degrees. This can be accomplished before attachment to the implant using a protractor jig (not shown). With the sighting arm set to the correct orientation, the patient&#39;s forearm is flexed to approximately 90-degrees to the humerus. The surgeon then rotates the implant to align the sight arm with the axis of the forearm, thereby easily and accurately establishing the desired retroversion. 
     Once the correct height and retroversion is established, a cannulated drill guide  170  is inserted through guide holes  172  provided in the distal end of the template member. See FIG.  18 . Guide holes  172  are oriented to target locking holes  36  in the end of the stem. A drill  174  is inserted though the drill guide to bore through the bone over the locking holes. One or two screws are installed through the humerus and locking holes to secure the implant in place. 
     As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 19, it is possible to attach the greater tubercle  159  to the implant prior to final securing of the head. This allows the surgeon to evaluate the tension in the rotator cuff and make corrections, if necessary, by moving to a smaller or larger head. One other feature of the present invention is the provision of suture supports  180 , shown in FIG. 21, which serve to distribute the force of the suture over the bone. Particularly in trauma cases, the bone is very soft and without supports  180 , the sutures will sometimes pull through the bone. By utilizing the supports, the surgeon can obtain the desired suture tension without risk of the suture pulling through the surface of the bone. 
     It should be noted that the targeting/installation instrument is provided in left and right versions, although it would also be possible to make mounting bar  134  reversible or symmetric to accommodate left and right bodies. In addition, a longer template member would be used with the longer shafts used to treat mid-shaft fractures. 
     Installation and alignment of the implant can also be facilitated by placing indications or reference marks on the implant as shown at  200  in FIG.  22 . Reference marks  200  are placed in an alignment section  202  of the stem, generally in the area of the stem which will lie adjacent the top of the humeral shaft when installed. Preferably, the reference marks include one or more angular marks such as angular indication  204  and multiple vertically-spaced gradations  206 , allowing both height and angular orientation to be monitored. A plurality of indicia such as letters  208  are applied to the vertically-spaced gradations marks at intervals to make identifying a particular gradation easier. The marks can be laser marked on the surface of the implant, etched into the implant or applied via any other standard marking process. It should be noted that the marks and indicia would normally be viewed from the anterior direction and are therefore preferably placed on that side. In the case of implants that can be placed on either the left or right side, the marks and indicia would preferably be formed on both sides of the implant so that they were visible in either case. 
     In use, the surgeon first installs one or more trial prostheses to obtain proper fit and positioning in the fashion described above. The trial prostheses are typically identical to the actual prosthesis, but are assembled from a kit of components that are reused from operation to operation. The trial prostheses are equipped with reference marks at the same locations as the actual prosthesis. Once the correct fit and positioning are established, the surgeon notes which gradation is positioned adjacent to the top of the humeral shaft. The surgeon then marks the bone with a methylene blue dye marker at the top of the shaft in line with the angular indication. The surgeon can then take the actual implant and place it in the bone and replicate the trial position, which includes an angular orientation and a depth component, by aligning the previously-noted marks on the actual implant with the previously-determined location on the bone. 
     It should be understood that the alignment marks could be implemented on a modular or unitary implant and could be used alone or in conjunction with the above-described targeting instrument. Moreover, such marks are beneficial, even when used without a trial device, to verify that an implant has not moved after the desired position has been established. 
     While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. Applicants regard the subject matter of their invention to include all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. No single feature, function, element or property of the disclosed embodiments is essential. The following claims define certain combinations and subcombinations which are regarded as novel and non-obvious. Other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or presentation of new claims in this or a related application. Such claims, whether they are broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of applicant&#39;s invention.