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.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application 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 
     1. Field of Technology 
     The present disclosure relates generally to arthroscopic surgery and, specifically to a device and methods for use during arthroscopic surgery. 
     2. 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  12   a  and a guidewire component  12   b , the purpose of which will be further described below. The distal end  12 , especially the blade  12   a , may be curved, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 1A . Having a curved distal end  12  biases the blade  12   a  against a guidewire when the blade  12   a  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  12   a  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  12   b ′ of the component  12   b  and sliding the knife  10  along the guidewire  60  and into the joint  20 , such that the blade  12   a  is located between the acetabulum  30  and the labrum  40 , as shown in  FIG. 2E . 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.