Patent ID: 7175667

Claim:
A prosthesis for implantation at the proximal articular surface of a proximal phalange, of a human great toe, comprising: a base portion having a generally concave bearing surface shaped to articulate with the distal articular surface of a metatarsal bone, and a flat surface opposite the bearing surface for emplacement against a resected surface of the proximal phalange of the great toe of the human subject; and a stem extending distally from said flat surface of said base portion, for implantation in the intramedulary canal of a proximal phalange of the great toe of the human subject, said stem having a generally frustoconical shape, with a substantially oval wide end at the said flat surface of the base portion, tapering to a substantially circular end, said generally frustoconically shaped stem having a longitudinal axis that is inclined at an anatomical angle, of about 94° to the base portion, to align with the intramedulary canal of a proximal phalanx of the great of the human subject.