Patent ID: 8409235

Claim:
A surgical cutting instrument for addressing tissue including at least one of soft tissue and bone, the instrument comprising: a first hollow elongated member having a proximal section and a distal section having serrated edges which define a cutting tip; a second tubular member having a proximal region and a distal region forming a cutting window, the cutting window having serrated edges; and means for moving the first and second members relative to each other around their common axis such that the cutting tip may repeatedly address the tissue; the first elongated member being co-axially disposed within the second tubular member such that the cutting tip is exposed at the cutting window; and the cutting window comprises first and second open sections separated from each other by a first pair of oppositely facing teeth separated by a first distance less than any second distance which separates any second pair of oppositely facing teeth, in which the cutting window comprises a proximal first portion having only the first pair of oppositely facing teeth, and a distal second portion having all second pairs of teeth.