Patent ID: 7189243

Claim:
An instrument for gripping an orthopaedic fixation pin during a surgical procedure and extracting the pin from bone in which the pin is embedded, the pin having an embedded portion extending into the bone along a longitudinal axis, and a projecting portion projecting longitudinally from the bone adjacent a bearing surface associated with the bone, the instrument comprising: a first handle member having a first gripping element including a gripping surface; a second handle member coupled with the first handle member for selective movement relative to the first handle member between a first position and a second position; a pusher coupled with the first and second handle members for movement relative to the first and second handle members in directions along a linear path essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis in response to movement of the second handle member between the first and second positions; a gripping mechanism including the first gripping element and a second gripping element coupled with the first and second handle members for movement to grip the projecting portion of the pin between the first gripping element and the second gripping element in response to an initial movement of the second handle member from the first position toward the second position; the second gripping element including a gripping finger mounted upon the first handle member for movement toward and away from the gripping surface; and a linkage system coupling the second handle member with the gripping finger for movement of the gripping finger laterally toward the gripping surface in response to movement of the second handle member from the first position toward the second position; the second handle member being coupled to the pusher such that upon movement of the second handle member relative to the first handle member farther toward the second position, subsequent to the initial movement, the pusher is urged against the bearing surface to move the gripping mechanism away from the bearing surface and to establish an extraction force in a direction essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and the gripped projecting portion of the pin is moved with the gripping mechanism to withdraw the embedded portion of the pin from the bone along a direction essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis.