Patent ID: 7048741

Claim:
A method of total knee arthroplasty of a knee of a patient, said knee having a front or anterior portion at which a patella is located, an opposing rear or posterior portion, and a pair of opposing sides or medial or lateral portions located between said anterior and posterior portions, said method comprising the steps of: creating an incision in a skin between said front and rear portions of said knee at one of said sides of the knee of the patient; incising the ligaments, patellar retinaculum, and other soft tissue structures along the side and length of the skin incision, splitting the fiber of said structures longitudinally without transecting them; accessing a knee joint of the patient through said incision; resecting a distal end of a femur at said knee joint; resecting a proximal end of a tibia at said knee joint; resecting a posterior portion of a patella at said knee joint; passing a femoral component through said incision; connecting said femoral component to said resected distal end of said femur; passing a tibial component through said incision; connecting said tibial component to said resected proximal end of said tibia; passing a patellar component through said incision; and connecting said patellar component to said resected patella.