Abstract: An improvement in bail-and-bucket, piston-type stapedial prostheses in which the bail is pivotally mounted to rotate about the open end of the bucket. Means are provided on the bucket for permitting overcenter pivotal movement of the bail in one direction and thereafter preventing overcenter pivotal movement of the bail in the opposite direction. The preferred means for accomplishing this function is an opposed pair of cam surfaces mounted on the bucket.

Abstract: The present invention provides a container, package, or case and at the same time an article of surgical equipment for the storage, transportation, asepsis and surgical preparation of a medical device. The container is especially adapted for small, delicate, otic prostheses, the type used as a middle ear implant, such as a total or partial ossicular replacement prosthesis. The container comprises a base that constitutes a work area and has a first recessed area formed therein conforming to the shape and size of the prosthesis which it will carry. The end of this first recessed area opens laterally into a contiguous, coplanar second recessed area adapted in cooperation with the said work area to use in preparation of the prosthesis. Disposed on the base opposite the second recessed area and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first recessed area are measuring apparatus having a scale set perpendicular to the said longitudinal axis.

Abstract: An improvement in an otic prosthesis of the type used in ossicular reconstruction of the sound-conducting mechanism of the middle ear is provided. The improvement comprises a movable joint which connects a head portion and a shaft portion whereby there is provided a flexible, variably angled prosthesis, which can be readily set in position in the middle ear against the tympanum during surgical implantation. The movable joint permits the so-connected shaft portion to move in at least a single plane normal to the head portion and can itself be readily set against either retained bony elements of the sound-conducting mechanism or against tissue grafted into the aperture (oval window) between the middle and the inner ear. The movable joint is responsive to tympanic vibrations and the prosthesis exerts a minimized pressure on the tympanum during surgical implantation and thereafter it also resists dislodgment within or extrusion from the middle ear.

Abstract: Knee prosthesis for permitting total or partial replacement of an articulating portion or portions of the knee. The knee prosthesis is particularly adapted for attachment to one of the condyles of the knee, and includes a curved elongated body portion, a post fixedly attached to the body portion, and a plurality of cement holding rings attached to the body portion.

Abstract: A prosthetic hip joint for use in the replacement of at least a portion of defective hip joint. The hip joint includes a femoral component and an acetabular component. The femoral component includes a stem that has an uninterrupted outer surface and is continuously tapered from the proximal end of the stem to the distal end. The stem is oval shaped in cross-section with the longer axis of the oval being in the lateral-medial plane and the shorter axis being in the anterior-posterior plane. The neck portion of the device in cross-section is narrower in its anterior-posterior dimension than its lateral-medial dimension. The femoral component is available with different length neck portions to allow the tightness of the hip joint to be varied. However, even when the length of the neck portion is varied, the distance between the center of the head and the longitudinal axis of the stem and the curvature of the stem are not varied.

Abstract: An elbow prosthesis for replacing one or more of the articulating surfaces of the elbow joint in a human elbow. An ulna component for being fixedly anchored to the proximal end of the ulna of a human elbow joint is provided with a head member having a curved face portion for replacing the articulating surface of the proximal end of the ulna. A humeral component for being fixedly anchored to the distal end of the humerus of a human elbow joint is provided with a head member having a curved face portion for replacing the articulating surface of the distal end of the humerus.

Abstract: A device for use in evacuating waste fluid from a closed wound or the like in a patient's body. The evacuation device includes an expansible member enclosed within a substantially collapsible pouch having walls formed of an air- and liquid-impermeable material. At least one hollow tube is attached to the pouch in operative communication with the interior of the pouch so that when the end of the hollow tube opposite the pouch is positioned within a closed wound or the like and when the expansible member is compressed and subsequently released, suction is applied to the wound through the hollow tube as the expansible member and the pouch expand thereby drawing any waste fluid in the wound into the interior of the pouch. The expansible member may consist of a hydrophylic sponge so that when waste fluid is drawn into the interior of the pouch, the expansible member will swell as a result of the contact between it and the waste fluid.

Abstract: A prosthetic ligament for replacing one of the collateral ligaments of the knee joint. The prosthetic ligament includes a bridge member for extending across the knee joint, a first connector member for securing the first end of the bridge member to the lower end of the femur, and a second connector member for securing the second end of the bridge member to the upper end of the tibia.

Abstract: A prosthetic ligament for replacing a natural ligament flexibly connecting two skeletal members together. The prosthetic ligament includes a bridge member made of biocompatible material for joining the two skeletal members together. The bridge member includes a first end portion for fixed attachment to one of the skeletal members, a second end portion for fixed attachment to the other skeletal member, and a central portion for flexibly joining the first and second end portions together. The prosthetic ligament includes first and second nut members for coacting with the first and second end portions of the bridge member to secure the bridge member to the skeletal members. The prosthetic ligament also includes first and second sleeve members positioned adjacent the skeletal members for protecting the bridge member from abrasion as the skeletal members flex relative to each other.