Patent Application
20200390463
The present disclosure relates to a dual-blade cutting apparatus for cutting tendons and, more particularly, for cutting a quadriceps tendon and a cartridge system for holding multiples ones of the dual-blade cutting apparatus.
Most people can go through the majority of their life without ever caring or knowing how complicated a structure the knee that helps them walk is. However, the knee remains a fragile mechanical structure that is readily susceptible to damage. While medical advances have made repairing the knee possible, repair of certain types of injuries results in other long term effects. To assist the reader in appreciating the elegance of the present disclosure,
For the purposes of the present disclosure, and as illustrated, the knee may be composed of the quadriceps muscles 100, the femur 102, the articular cartilage 104, the lateral condyle 106, the posterior cruciate ligament 108, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 110, the lateral collateral ligament 112, the fibula 114, the tibia 116, the patellar tendon 118, the meniscus 120, the medial collateral ligament 122, the patella 124 (shown slightly displaced to the side—it normally rests in the center of the knee), and the quadriceps tendon 126. Of particular interest for the purposes of the present disclosure is the ACL 110 and what is done to repair the ACL 110.
ACL tears are common in athletes and are usually season-ending injuries. The ACL 110 cannot heal—it must be surgically reconstructed. The reconstruction requires replacement tissue. The most common tissue used is a central slip of the patient's own patellar tendon 118. In practice, the patellar tendon 118 has proven to be generally effective, but the size of the graft that can be used is limited to the size of the patient's own patellar tendon 118. As a rule of thumb, only a third of the patellar tendon 118 may be harvested as a graft. Thus, a doctor will measure the width of the patellar tendon 118, divide by three, and take the middle third of the patellar tendon 118. Such harvested grafts are rarely more than ten millimeters (10 mm) wide and may be smaller. Taking this tissue from a person's patellar tendon 118 also causes significant pain and discomfort in the post-operative healing period, which may last up to a year, and up to twenty (20) percent of these patients are left with chronic anterior knee pain.
Some doctors recommend and use other graft sources, such as cadaver grafts, but cadaver grafts have a higher failure rate. Additionally, there is a non-zero chance of disease transmission or rejection by the patient's immune system. As a final drawback, cadaver grafts are usually quite expensive and may not be covered by some insurance companies.
Other doctors use hamstring tendons (e.g., the distal semitendinosus tendon) because the scar created during harvesting is relatively small and there is less pain during the rehabilitation, but again, the hamstring tendon has its own collection of disadvantages. The disadvantages include the fact that once the graft is taken, a patient's hamstring will never recover to its previous strength. Further, all hamstring reconstructions stretch and are looser than the original ACL 110. This loosening is particularly problematic in younger female athletes.
Another alternative graft source is the quadriceps tendon 126. The quadriceps tendon 126 is larger and stronger than either the patellar tendon 118 or the hamstring tendon. The quadriceps tendon 126 is likewise stiffer and less prone to stretching or plastic deformation. However, the qualities that make the quadriceps tendon 126 attractive also contribute to the difficulty in harvesting a graft from the quadriceps tendon 126. Existing surgical implements require a large incision up the longitudinal axis of the femur 102 on the front or ventral/anterior side of the thigh to cut down to the level of the quadriceps tendon 126, resulting in a large post-operative scar. Additionally, the quadriceps tendon 126 has a consistency similar to the proverbial shoe leather, making it difficult to cut. However, an ACL 110 repaired with grafts from the quadriceps tendon 126 generally result in almost no anterior knee pain postoperatively over the short or long term and patients recover quicker.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,894,672; 8,894,675; 8,894,676; 9,044,260; 9,107,700; and 9,474,535 provide a number of devices designed to create a graft from the quadriceps tendon 126 as well as a number of secondary cutting implements to trim the distal end of the graft. While these devices perform admirably, there is a desire to afford a surgeon more flexibility in approaching tendon harvesting.
The present disclosure provides a dual-blade tendon cutting apparatus and cartridge for multiple apparatuses. Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure relate to a cutting implement that comprises two parallel blades that are spaced apart from one another by a predefined distance. The distance between the blades determines a lateral size of a graft being taken from the quadriceps tendon. To simplify matters for the surgeon, a cartridge is provided with three different blade sets. Much like a razor that has a disposable head, the cutting implement may attach to a desired blade set and be used.
In this regard, in one aspect, a cartridge is disclosed. The cartridge includes a generally rectangular housing with a plurality of bays therein to hold a plurality of dual-blade cutting attachments.
In another aspect, a surgical instrument is disclosed. The surgical instrument includes a plurality of dual-blade cutting attachments. The surgical instrument also includes a cartridge. The cartridge includes a generally rectangular housing with a plurality of bays therein to hold the plurality of dual-blade cutting attachments. The surgical instrument also includes a handle configured to snap fit with any one of the plurality of dual-blade cutting attachments.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description in association with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and illustrate the best mode of practicing the disclosure. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
The present disclosure provides a dual-blade tendon cutting apparatus and cartridge for multiple apparatuses. Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure relate to a cutting implement that comprises two parallel blades that are spaced apart from one another by a predefined distance. The distance between the blades determines a lateral size of a graft being taken from the quadriceps tendon. To simplify matters for the surgeon, a cartridge is provided with three different blade sets. Much like a razor that has a disposable head, the cutting implement may attach to a desired blade set and be used.
The handle 204 includes a channel 212 and beveled edges to allow the dual-blade cutting attachment 202 to snap fit therein. The handle 204 is contoured to provide an easy grip surface and may be made from plastic or the like. In particular, the handle 204 may include a first front ridge 214 where pressure may be applied such as by a surgeon's thumb. Likewise, the handle 204 may be generally I-shaped with a wider front section 216 and rear section 218 (best seen in
Because the size of the graft may vary depending on the person, it may be appropriate to use differently-sized dual-blade cutting attachments 202. To this end, exemplary aspects of the present disclosure allow a plurality of differently-sized dual-blade cutting attachments to be placed into respective bays of a single cartridge 300 as illustrated in
The dual-blade cutting attachment 202 is further illustrated in
Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/861,623 filed on Jun. 14, 2019 and entitled “DUAL-BLADE TENDON CUTTING APPARATUS AND CARTRIDGE FOR MULTIPLE APPARATUSES,” the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62861623 | Jun 2019 | US |
