Patent ID: 7374563

Claim:
A system for guiding a surgical instrument to operate on an end of a bone of a patient, the bone defining an anatomical axis and requiring shaping along a plane which is substantially perpendicular to a predefined mechanical axis related to use of the bone in the patient's body, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of alignment plates each having a contact surface, a cylindrical protrusion formed on the alignment plate so as to protrude away from the bone along a protrusion axis perpendicular to the contact surface, and a bore extending along a bore axis, the protrusion axis and the bore axis forming an angle, the alignment plate constructed to be mounted and affixed relative to the bone in a predefined position relative to the anatomical axis with the contact surface contacting the end of the bone in a contact plane substantially perpendicular to the mechanical axis, wherein at least two of the alignment plates have different angles; and a cutting guide adapted to be mounted on the cylindrical protrusion of said alignment plate for rotation about the protrusion axis, the cutting guide having an instrument-receiver constructed and arranged to guide the surgical instrument to shape the bone at a predetermined distance from the contact plane, this predetermined distance corresponding to depth of cut of the surgical instrument.