Abstract: A surgical instrument and method are disclosed. The surgical instrument comprises an elongated handle having an operator gripping portion and including a grinding burr rotatably mounted to the handle opposite the operator gripping portion, and an elongated guard connected to the handle and extending along the handle substantially parallel to the axis of the handle, the guard terminating in a plate. The surgical instrument of the present invention allows a surgeon to perform a craniectomy on a patient without reflecting scalp flaps from the skull of the patient.

Abstract: A tool for use with a rotary drive is provided with a number of differently formed slots therein to receive different cutting blades in various orientations. The tool is adaptable for cutting in a radial direction and in an axial direction and can accommodate molding head cutters as well as standard 1/4-inch tool steel bits in various combinations with spacer bars to provide different cutting profiles in a radial direction and to permit surface boring and milling in the axial direction.