Patent ID: 7175631

Claim:
A method of using a radiolucent aiming guide for locating a hole in an implanted intramedullary nail and inserting a locking screw, said method comprising the steps of: inserting the intramedullary nail, having at least one nail hole, into a medullary canal of a bone; positioning an imaging source and imaging monitor such that the imaging source is parallel to an axis of the intramedullary nail hole; inserting a trocar, having a longitudinal axis and a radiopaque tip at a distal end, into a protection sleeve of the radiolucent aiming guide, the radiolucent aiming guide including a pair of radiopaque pins disposed within a handle of the radiolucent aiming guide; aligning the axes of the protection sleeve and the trocar with the imaging source; replacing the trocar from the protection sleeve with a drill sleeve; inserting a drill bit through the drill sleeve and aligning the axes of the protection sleeve and drill bit with the imaging source and the intramedullary nail hole; accurately drilling through the intramedullary nail hole and surrounding bone material; removing the drill bit and drill sleeve; and inserting the locking screw through the protection sleeve and screwing the locking screw through the bone material and nail hole to secure the intramedullary nail to the bone.