Patent ID: 7427296

Claim:
A method for treating an infected implant area of a knee joint, the method comprising: surgically accessing the implant area; inserting a tibial component into the tibia using an antibiotic-impregnated material, wherein the tibial component comprises a tray, a central stem that is inserted into a opening in the tibia and a posterior stabilizing protrusion, and wherein the antibiotic-impregnated material is placed onto the central stem so as to be within the opening in the tibia, wherein placement of the central stem into the opening in the tibia provides stability to the tibial component while attached to the tibia; while the implant area is surgically accessible, forming a femoral component that is configured to interact with the tibial component, wherein the femoral component is formed of an antibiotic-impregnated material using a mold having a smooth U-shaped back surface with a recess for receiving the antibiotic-impregnated material, and wherein the femoral component comprises a single integral piece that is constructed of two outer surfaces that are spaced apart from each other by a center section having a recess to form a one-piece structure that resurfaces the entire distal femur, wherein the femoral component has a front surface that interfaces with the tibial component and a back surface that interfaces with the femur, wherein the back surface is generally smooth and does not include protrusions such that all areas of the back surface which interface with the femur are without protrusions, and wherein the step of forming the femoral component further comprises pressing the antibiotic-impregnated material into the mold to form the antibiotic-impregnated material in the shape of the femoral component, removing excess antibiotic-impregnated material from the U-Shaped back surface and smoothing the entire back surface of the femoral component using a straight edge which provides the femoral component to be temporarily contacted with the femur, and then removing the mold and permitting the femoral component to harden; attaching the femoral component to the femur using an antibiotic-impregnated material such that the femoral component does not project into the femur; and interfacing the tibial component with the femoral component by placing the posterior stabilizing protrusion of the tibial component into the recess of the femoral component, with the two outer surfaces of the femoral component resting on the tray to form a temporary knee joint capable of treating an infection and reducing the spread of infection while permitting movement of the knee joint, with the two outer surfaces, recess and protrusion providing anterior and posterior as well as lateral and medial stability to the knee joint and maintaining the knee joint space, thereby reducing scarring and thus facilitating final implantation.