Patent ID: 7094241

Claim:
A method of creating a desired alignment between a tibia and a femur that form a knee joint having an alignment deformity, comprising: inserting a spacer of an adjustable alignment block into the knee joint; connecting a femoral alignment rod having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis to said adjustable alignment block, the first end of the femoral alignment rod positioned between a pair of condyles positioned at a distal end of the femur and the second end of the femoral alignment rod extending proximally toward a femoral head of the femur; connecting a tibial alignment rod having a first end and a second end to said adjustable alignment block, the first end of the tibial alignment rod positioned between the pair of condyles, the second end of the tibial alignment rod extending distally, said tibial alignment rod one of substantially parallel to and colinear with said femoral alignment rod; connecting a targeting guide to said second end of said femoral alignment rod, said targeting guide having a reference offset from said longitudinal axis of said femoral alignment rod; aligning said reference of said targeting guide with a femoral head; aligning the tibial alignment rod with a tibial mechanical axis; and adjusting the spacer to maintain the knee in a position whereby said reference of said targeting guide remains aligned with the femoral head and said tibial alignment rod remains aligned with the tibial mechanical axis.