Patent ID: 8480676

Claim:
A tamp apparatus for use in surgical operations for the realignment of fractured bone, the tamp apparatus comprises: a cannula that has a tubular wall that includes a distal end portion and a proximal end portion, the distal end portion includes a distal terminal end and the proximal end portion includes a proximal terminal end; a lumen defined by the tubular wall of the cannula, the lumen extends from a first opening defined in the proximal terminal end to a second opening defined in the distal terminal end, the first opening optionally adapted to couple with a source of bone graft material and the second opening optionally adapted for the injecting of bone graft material; a distally directed tamping face of the cannula adapted for the displacement of bone from a fractured position to an approximately natural position, the tamping face defined by the distal terminal end of the distal end portion of the cannula between an outside diameter of the tubular wall of distal terminal end and an outside diameter of the second opening; a central longitudinal axis defined between the distal end portion and the proximal end portion of the cannula, the distal end portion includes a plurality of slots defined in the tubular wall and the slots define a plurality of elements, each element includes a distally directed taper of the inner surface of the cannula tubular wall that decreases the diameter of the cannula second opening, the elements movable between a first position wherein the elements are approximately aligned with the longitudinal axis and a second position wherein the elements are oblique to the longitudinal axis, the slots extend from the distal terminal end proximally to a terminal end of the slot, the tamping face of the cannula includes a distal end of each element, the tubular wall includes a hinge in proximity to the terminal end of the slot for the movement of each element between the first position and the second position, the elements in the second position rotatingly moved outward from the central longitudinal axis about the hinge, the elements including a retention mechanism, the retention mechanism resists the rotation of the elements from the first position to the second position and biases the elements to the first position; and a stylet that includes a distal end portion and a proximal end portion, the stylet distal end portion includes a distally directed end that defines a stylet tamping face, the stylet approximately axially rigid, the stylet movable in the lumen of the cannula to contact the distally directed tapered inner surface of the cannula tubular wall and move the elements from the first position to the second position, the cannula and stylet of the tamp apparatus fixed in the second position, a tamping face of the tamp apparatus in the second position defined by the distal ends of the elements of the cannula and distal end of the stylet.