Patent ID: 8388689

Claim:
An alignable joint prosthesis system, comprising: a joint prosthesis, including: a head including an articular surface, an alignment portion and a chamber, the articular surface including a bottom; a stem including an anchor portion configured for anchoring in a bone and a neck portion configured to mate with said head; said neck portion including a spherical protuberance; said chamber being configured to receive said spherical protuberance; said chamber additionally being configured to permit free rotation of said head about said spherical protuberance when said spherical protuberance is received in said chamber; a set screw configured to impede further rotation of said spherical protuberance in said chamber; and a jig, including: a handle portion including a grasping portion configured to mate with said alignment portion of said head and hold said head at a particular orientation relative to said neck portion while said grasping portion is engaged with said alignment portion, a center of said grasping portion defining a point on a first longitudinal axis; a tailpiece portion including an extension and a brace, said brace defining a second point on said first longitudinal axis; a spacing bar defining a second longitudinal axis through a length of said spacing bar, said handle portion engageable to a first end of said spacing bar, said tailpiece portion engageable at a second end of said spacing bar and said extension of said tailpiece portion dimensioned to cause said first longitudinal axis to be parallel to said second longitudinal axis; and said grasping portion configured to align said alignment portion of said head into a position such that an imaginary plane tangential to the bottom of said articular surface of said head is held perpendicular to said first longitudinal axis while said grasping portion is engaged with said alignment portion.