The present invention relates generally to the field of orthopedics, and, more particularly, to an arthroplasty plate for repairing fractures of an end of a long bone.
A natural shoulder joint may undergo degenerative changes for a variety of reasons, for instance arthritis. Alternatively, a shoulder joint may be fractured or otherwise damaged by an external force. When a shoulder joint is sufficiently degenerated or damaged it may be necessary to replace the natural joint with a prosthetic shoulder joint. Conventional shoulder prostheses comprise a humeral prosthesis, optionally with a glenoid prosthesis. For total or reverse arthroplasty a glenoid component is implanted, however for hemiarthroplasty the humeral component articulates against the natural glenoid cavity.
When the upper extremity of the humerus is fractured, the humerus generally breaks into several pieces, typically three or four. In particular, for a four part fracture, the humeral head splits off at the level of the anatomical neck, the greater and lesser tuberosities are separated from the humerus shaft below the tuberosities and the tuberosities are separated from one another along the bicipetal groove. As there is no longer a blood supply to the humeral head necrosis may begin. For repair of a three-part or four-part fracture, where the blood supply to the humeral head is damaged, the humeral head is replaced, and the greater and lesser tuberosities are reattached to the humeral shaft. Typically, the humeral component of a shoulder prosthesis comprises a stem for insertion into a bore extending into the intramedullary canal of the humerus, generally along the longitudinal axis of the bone, and an articulation component, which may be a convex bearing head in the case of total arthroplasty or a concave cup in the case of reverse arthroplasty. Typically, the articulation component is coupled to a neck portion of the stem, which extends from the intramedullary canal at an inclined angle relative to the longitudinal axis of a distal portion of the stem in order to recreate the anatomy of the natural joint. Commonly, humeral stem prostheses are secured in position within the intramedullary bore using bone cement. Alternatively, the stem may be coated with a material which encourages bone growth to hold the stem in position, such as Porocoat® or hydroxyapatite. One such humeral stem prosthesis is commercially available from DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc under the trademark Global FX.
As an alternative to humeral stem implants, it is known to repair some types of proximal humeral fracture using an intramedullary nail extending along a bore formed within the intramedullary canal. Screws pass from outside of the humerus, through holes formed within the nail and into the humeral head and the tuberosities. This type of fixation also suffers from vascular damage in the intramedullary canal. Furthermore, a significant drawback is that because the humeral head is not replaced the nail must be inserted through a hole formed in the articular cartilage of the humeral head. A plug must be inserted into the hole to restore the bearing surface.
For the repair of fractures of the femoral neck it is known to provide a form of prosthesis generally known as a thrust plate prosthesis. One such form of thrust plate prosthesis is disclosed within PCT patent publication WO2007/024980-A2. The prosthesis comprises a plate portion to be attached to the lateral external surface of the proximal femur.
One issue in dealing with long-limb arthroplasty, is accommodating various anatomic sizes. This becomes even more of a challenge when the desired sizes of linking components that must engage and disengage and be mechanically stable. Also, surgeons desiring the ability to adjust intra-operatively creates additional issues as does the desire by surgeons to have infinite adjustability, not finite size offerings.
It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the problems of the prior art, whether identified herein or elsewhere.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, an orthopaedic assembly is provided. The assembly includes a first member adapted to be coupled to a bone and an adjustable connector assembly including an adjuster having a threaded end and a tapered end. The assembly further includes an articulation component including a bearing surface and adapted to be coupled to the tapered end of the adjustable connector assembly. The threaded end is adapted to engage the fixation plate.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an arthroplasty plate is provided. The arthroplasty plate includes a fixation plate adapted to be fixed to a surface of a bone, having a recess with a plurality of tapers and an adjustable connector assembly including an adjuster having a plurality of tapers on a first end a taper on a second end. An articulation component is also included and has a bearing surface and adapted to be coupled to the tapered second end of the adjustable connector assembly. The plurality of tapers are adapted to engage at least one of the plurality of tapers in the recess of the fixation plate.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of repairing a fractured end of a bone includes removing fractured portions of an articulating bone surface at the end of a bone. The method further includes securing a fixation plate to a lateral surface of the fractured end of the bone. The fixation plate is coupled to adjustable connector assembly, which includes an adjuster having a threaded end and a tapered end. The adjuster is threaded into or out of a threaded bore of the fixation plate to adjust the length of the adjuster extending from the bore of the fixation plate. The position of the adjuster is locked within the threaded bore.
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the following description and the accompanying drawings.
The below description will be given with respect to a humeral prosthesis, and more particularly, a hemiarthroplasty plate. However, it should be understood that the present invention may be used in other types of prosthesis and that the hemiarthroplasty plate is used as an example only. For example, instead of a fixation plate, a stem or other arthroplasty component could be used. And, any articulation member, not just humeral heads could be used as well.
Referring first to
Referring now to
Referring to both
The second end 28 of the adjuster 18 includes a connection feature 34 adapted to connect to a corresponding connection feature 36 in the fixation plate 12. In the illustrated embodiments of
The assembly screw 24 includes a threaded end 40 and the articulation component 14 includes a corresponding threaded opening 42 (shown in
Turning now to
Turning now to
The foregoing description of the invention is illustrative only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the precise terms set forth. Further, although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain illustrative embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Prov. App. No. 61/706916 filed Sep. 28, 2012, entitled “Adjustable Height Arthroplasty Plate,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61706916 | Sep 2012 | US |