Orthopaedic Implant Fixation Using an In-situ Formed Anchor
An orthopaedic implant fixation using a surgically created bone cavity as a mold for forming an anchor from an in-situ hardenable material. An in-situ formed anchor of the present invention is especially useful for attaching an implant to osteoporotic cancellous bone. The injectable nature of the in-situ formed anchor allows implants to be adapted to minimally invasive surgical techniques. The present invention can be adapted to numerous implants or implant system components to include fasteners, pins, nails, intramedullary nails, and suture anchors. Applications include bone fracture fixation, bone fracture prevention, and soft-tissue repair.
This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/336,557 filed Nov. 1, 2001.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to orthopaedic implants and, more particularly, to fixation of orthopaedic implants to bone.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBone structures are typically comprised of two types of bone, cortical bone and cancellous bone. Cortical bone can be characterized as a rigid and dense material, whereas cancellous bone can be characterized as a structured material with a high degree of visible porosity. Cortical bone and cancellous bone combine to form structures that are strong and lightweight. However, strength can be compromised by osteoporosis, a metabolic disease characterized by a decrease in bone mass. It is estimated that osteoporosis affects approximately 15-20 million people in the United States. Although osteoporosis can affect persons of all ages and both genders, it is generally a disease associated with the elderly. Approximately 1.3 million new fractures each year are associated with osteoporosis, and the most common fracture sites are the hip, wrist and vertebrae. Osteoporosis leads to skeletal fractures under light to moderate trauma and, in its advanced state, can lead to fractures under normal physiologic loading conditions.
Whether treating a fracture associated with osteoporosis or another disorder of the musculoskeletal system, implant attachment to weakened osteoporotic bone can be problematic. Inadequate attachment of an orthopaedic implant to osteoporotic bone can result in less effective, or ineffective implant fixation.
Generally, orthopaedic implant fixation is accomplished by numerous conventional attachment mechanisms to include screw thread, serration, spikes, barbs, porous coatings, and treated surfaces. Some attachment mechanisms expand within bone, analogous to a rivet or wall anchor. Bone cements are also used for orthopaedic implant fixation, primarily as an adhesive interface layer between implant and bone. Bone cement can also be used to augment cancellous bone adjacent to an attachment region, wherein bone cement is used to fill or partially fill cancellous bone pores.
A common approach to implant fixation is the screw thread, used on implants such as bone screws. Bone screws can be used as stand-alone devices for attaching fractured bone or used in a multi-component implant assembly. Tightening bone screws is generally subjective and the appropriate fixation is especially difficult to judge when securing a bone screw to osteoporotic cancellous bone. Over-tightening can lead to stripping of bone and inadequate fixation, while under-tightening can also lead to inadequate fixation. After a screw has failed to hold, bone cement can be used to augment screw fixation by filling a drilled hole with the bone cement, or by coating the screw thread with bone cement prior to reinsertion. These time consuming repair techniques have experienced some success; however, the necessity for repair emphasizes the potential ineffectiveness of screw thread purchase in osteoporotic bone. Also, bone screws can occasionally loosen, losing their effectiveness. Further, loose bone screws can ultimately back-out and migrate to an undesirable position or location.
There are numerous examples of orthopaedic implants that serve as conduits for the delivery of synthetic material, usually bone cement, to specific bone/implant interface regions. Cannulated bone screws adapted with screw thread apertures for the delivery of bone cement are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,489 to Tronzo, U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,343 to Mathis et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,376 to Grayson, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,012, to Karpmen et. al. Foremost, the addition of apertures to a screw thread substantially weakens the bone screw. Another disadvantage is the potential for uneven distribution of bone cement within cancellous bone, caused in part by bone pore regions not directly adjacent to apertures receiving a disproportionate amount of the injected cement. In addition, extruding directly into bone can require relatively high pressures depending on the bone characteristics and the viscosity of the injectable material. Injection at lower pressure is preferred because simpler injection systems can be used and migration of injectable material is less likely.
There are known concepts of non-threaded orthopaedic implants serving as conduits for the delivery of bone cement, or other materials for implant fixation. Examples include implant fixation within an intramedullary canal, such as an intramedullary nail used for fracture fixation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,772 to Miller describes a method for strengthening a fractured femur which comprises drilling a hole along the axis of the medullary canal of the bone, inserting in the hole a substantially inflexible tube having an outside diameter less than the diameter of the hole, injecting into the tube and around the tube a semisolid hardenable bone cement, and allowing time for the mixture to harden. U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,137 to Coutts describes a cannulated intramedullary nail adapted for the extrusion of resorbable bone cement from the distal tip in order to augment cancellous bone in the distal region of the nail.
Another mechanism for attaching an implant to bone is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,817 to Branemark. The implant described in the patent to Branemark is formed as a tubular support member having perforations therein, the end of the bone is bored, the tubular member is introduced into the bore and cement is introduced into the interior of the tubular support and passes out through the perforations to provide the midterm anchor on the walls of the bone.
A need exists to develop improved implant fixation to bone, and in particular, implant fixation to osteoporotic bone. Preferably, inventions to improve implant fixation to bone should be applicable to a wide range of implant systems, and also be readily adaptable to minimally invasive surgical techniques.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, the present invention is directed toward improved fixation of an implant to bone, especially implant fixation to osteoporotic bone. The present invention accomplishes orthopaedic implant fixation by using a surgically created bone cavity as a mold for forming an anchor from an in-situ hardenable material. An implant of the present invention includes a preformed element and an in-situ formed anchor.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a surgically created pilot hole and bone cavity. The steps generally include drilling a pilot hole, and using the pilot hole to access a location for forming a bone cavity. The pilot hole is sized for passage and support of the preformed element. The bone cavity has a significantly larger diameter than the pilot hole, and a specific shape and size are created to form a mold for the in-situ formed anchor.
Minimally invasive devices and methods for forming a pilot hole and bone cavity have been developed and are disclosed in Applicant's co-pending application, Ser. No. 09/872,042, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The preformed element is preferably adapted with structures or voids for interlocking with the in-situ formed anchor. A suitable in-situ hardenable material, in an injectable state, can flow through, into, and around the structures or voids of a preformed element in an interlocking manner. Therefore, an in-situ formed anchor is securely attached to the preformed element following hardening of the in-situ hardenable material. Similarly, in-situ hardenable material can fill or partially fill cancellous bone pores adjacent to the in-situ formed anchor, forming an anchor-bone interlock. Compared to traditional attachment mechanisms, such as, screw threads, the in-situ formed anchor is relatively large, creating a broad and secure foundation for implant fixation that is further supported by the anchor-bone interlocks.
A wide range of in-situ hardenable materials can be used to form an in-situ formed anchor, including common polymethylmethacrylate-based bone cements. However, preferred injectable in-situ hardening materials include load-bearing polymers and synthetic bone substitutes, such as injectable calcium phosphates.
A fundamental approach to minimally invasive surgery is the percutaneous passage of instruments and implants through small tubes and cannula. As previously mentioned, minimally invasive devices and methods for creating a pilot hole and bone cavity have been developed. Also, since the in-situ formed anchor is injected, it is possible to adapt the present invention to minimally invasive techniques.
The present invention is also advantageous because relatively low pressures are required to fill a relatively large bone cavity with an in-situ hardenable material. This will result in the effective use of a wide range of in-situ hardenable materials to include materials with higher injection viscosity. Lower pressures result in improved injection over a greater distances, injection through smaller diameter tubes and needles, and the potential for simpler, low-pressure injection systems, such as syringes. In addition, lower pressure results in a decreased likelihood of detrimental migration of in-situ hardenable material to unintended areas.
The advantages of the present invention include simplicity, as a bone cavity can be used as a mold to form an uncomplicated anchor interlocked to a preformed element. The present invention can be applied to numerous implants or implant system components to include, but not limited to, fasteners, pins, nails, intramedullary nails, and suture anchors. Applications include bone fracture fixation, bone fracture prevention, and soft-tissue repair. These and additional advantages will become evident from a consideration of the following description and drawings.
Throughout the following description and the drawings, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts of the present invention. The term “proximal”, as is traditional, will refer to the portion of the structure which is closer to the operator while the term “distal” will refer to the portion which is further from the operator.
Numerous orthopaedic implants are broadly categorized as bone fasteners, to include screws, pins, and nails. These implants, pervasive in orthopaedic surgery, can be used as stand-alone devices to attach fractured or fragmented bone, or bone fasteners can be used as a component in an assembly or construct, such as a bone plate and screw construct. In order to focus on the spirit of the invention, the preferred embodiments of the present invention called bone fasteners will generally be shown as a stand-alone device without additional implant components and, further, without a reference to a specific application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the wide variety of uses and applications of bone fasteners.
Referring now to
A preformed element can be manufactured from suitably rigid implant materials to include metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. Specific examples of metals include titanium, titanium alloy, stainless steel, and Nitinol (TiNi). Considering polymers, ceramics, and composites, the preformed element can be made from a resorbable or non-resorbable material. Examples of established resorbable polymers include copolymers derived from glycolide and lactide that resorb in-vivo by hydrolysis to lactic and glycolic acids, which are then metabolized by the body. Examples of established ceramics include ziconia, alumina, and hydroxylapetite.
An in-situ formed-anchor can be molded from numerous injectable biomaterials capable of hardening or curing to a structural material following implantation. The following discussion provides examples, including preferred in-situ hardenable materials; however, the present invention should not be limited to these examples.
Potential in-situ hardenable materials include polymethylmethacrylate-based bone cements. Although these injectable bone cements have been used effectively for many decades, there continues to be concerns regarding high exothermic curing temperatures and potentially toxic fumes produced during curing.
Other in-situ hardenable materials appropriate for an in-situ formed anchor includes those said to have structural properties appropriate for load-bearing orthopaedic implants. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,194 to Dunn et. al. discloses biodegradable thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers for use in providing for syringeable, in-situ forming, solid biodegradable implants.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,659 to Ross et. al. describes a thermoplastic implant material, that is heated to a predetermined high temperature for injection from a needle. After injection, the thermoplastic material is cooled by the body temperature for setting of the thermoplastic material to a non-flowing state. The preferred thermoplastic material is said to be gutta-percha or gutta-percha compound.
Preferred in-situ hardenable materials include synthetic bone substitutes. For example, resorbable and injectable calcium phosphates, such as the material offered by Synthes-Stratec, Inc. under the Norian Skeletal Repair System™ brand name. An example of a non-resorbable bone substitute is an injectable terpolymer resin with combeite glass-ceramic reinforcing particles, such as the material offered by Orthovita, Inc. under the Cortoss™ brand name. Cortoss™ is said to have strength comparable to human cortical bone.
Those skilled in the art can envision numerous combinations of materials appropriate for various applications. For example, considering bone fastener 100, shown in
Relating to the present invention, the preformed element has structures and voids to interlock with an in-situ formed anchor. Structures and voids on a relatively small scale can be considered a surface treatment to include porous coatings or roughened surfaces. On a larger scale, structures include, but are not limited to, flanges, serration, and screw thread. Comparably sized voids include, but are not limited to, holes, slots, grooves, flutes, and dimples. For example, referring now to
Orthopaedic fixation using an in-situ formed anchor can be used in conjunction with conventional bone fixation mechanisms, such as a screw thread. For example,
The present invention can be adapted for use with existing bone screws serving as a preformed element. In this instance, a screw thread interlocks with an in-situ formed anchor. Accordingly, the present invention can be readily integrated into existing implant systems. Bone screws with in-situ formed anchors can be used as part of a planned procedure or part of a salvage procedure when the surgeon experiences unanticipated stripping of bone during tightening of a bone screw. The following description and drawings consider the use of cannulated bone screws and non-cannulated bone screws as preformed elements.
Referring now to
The present invention can also be adapted to non-cannulated bone screws, that is bone screws that do not have an internal passage or apertures for flow of an in-situ hardenable material.
All preceding preferred embodiments, and variations thereof, can be considered versatile bone fasteners that can used as a stand-alone system for fracture repair, or adapted to work with numerous other implant components including, but not limited to, bone plates. The remaining preferred embodiments are examples of the present invention adapted to additional orthopaedic implant systems and related applications.
The proximal end of the femur, particularly the neck region, is susceptible to osteoporosis related fractures. These types of fractures are often treated with a bone screw system in the head of the femur. More specifically, the bone screw used is a stand-alone lag screw, or a sliding lag screw as part of a compression hip screw system. The compression hip screw system also has bone plate component. Screw systems are designed to reduce the fracture and support the neck of the femur during healing. Fixation using lag screws, or a compression hip screw system are preferable to the considerably more invasive total hip arthroplasty. However, the success of these devices relies on adequate screw purchase within the femoral head's cancellous bone. It is possible to strip the bone structure when tightening a relatively large lag screw, which can lead to a conversion of the surgery to total hip arthroplasty.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Intramedullary nails are often used to stabilize a fracture of the diaphysis (mid-shaft) of long bones, such as, the femur. In the case of a femur, intramedullary nails are placed through the greater trochar and into the intramedullary canal. The tip of the intramedullary nail terminates at the distal end, near the epicondyles of the knee joint. Most intramedullary nails have transverse holes at the proximal end and distal end for interlocking screws that secure the intramedullary nail to the femur. Because the proximal end is near the incision site, the surgeon can use the proximal end of the intramedullary nail as a foundation for a temporary drill guide fixture to drill through holes for the proximal interlocking screws. Targeting the interlocking screws at the distal end of the nail is inherently difficult because the nail is embedded in bone a considerable distance from the surgical opening used to insert the nail. There have been attempts to use a second drill guide fixture for targeting the distal interlocking screws, also using the easily accessed proximal end of the nail as a temporary foundation and reference point. However, because of the significant distances involved, these fixtures have not been appropriately accurate. Therefore, a common approach for targeting the distal interlocking screws involves a time-consuming freehand technique of placing guide pins or drill guides with the assistance of a fluoroscope. More elaborate image guided surgery systems and other targeting systems are being developed; however, placing the distal interlocking screws remains one of the more difficult and time-consuming aspects of intramedullary nailing. The in-situ formed anchor of the present invention has the potential to serve as an alternative to interlocking screws at the distal end of an intramedullary nail.
Referring now to
Suture anchors and interference screws are often used for soft tissue repair and reconstruction of damaged ligament and tendons in the shoulder, knee, wrist, hand, and ankle. Suture anchors can also be used to repair other soft tissues in the musculoskeletal system, such as a labral tear in the shoulder joint. Suture anchors, in particular, are subjected to forces that can lead to pullout, a problem that is exasperated by attachment to osteoporotic cancellous bone. Minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery has been increasing used in orthopaedics, especially for the aforementioned soft tissue repair. The surgical instruments used in arthroscopic surgery, to include tubular guides, are typically 3 mm to 4 mm in diameter. In general, implants that can be inserted through smaller diameter tubular guides are desirable, because this is less invasive and intraoperative viewing is improved.
Referring now to
The following description and drawings pertain to preferred methods associated with orthopaedic implant fixation using an in-situ formed anchor. Discussion topics include preparation of a suitable pilot hole and bone cavity. In general, a preformed element and an in-situ formed anchor are implanted sequentially, the latter molded from an injected in-situ hardenable material. A first preferred method comprises first implanting a preformed element, secondly, injecting an in-situ hardenable material into a bone cavity to form an in-situ formed anchor. A second preferred method comprises an alternate sequence, first injecting an in-situ hardenable material into a bone cavity, secondly, implanting a preformed element to form an in-situ formed anchor. Alternate methods for injecting and removing material from the bone cavity will also be discussed. Although the first preferred embodiment, bone fastener 100 (
A pilot hole and bone cavity are essential aspects of the present invention. Pilot holes are used to position implants and instruments, and in the instance of the present invention, to initiate a bone cavity and ultimately serve as a conduit to the bone cavity. Pilot holes can be created using known techniques and readily available surgical drills and drill bits. Surgical dills can be powered (electric or pneumatic) or manual (e.g., shaft and T-handle).
The term “cavitation device” will refer to devices capable of creating a bone cavity extending from a pilot hole. Generally, a cavitation device can be operated through tubular guides as part of a minimally invasive surgical approach. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,154 to Reiley et al. discloses an inflatable, balloon-like device for forming a cavity within cancellous bone. The Reiley et al. cavitation device is inserted into the tissue and then inflated to form the cavity by compressing surrounding bone tissue.
Other cavitation devices are adapted to work with a surgical drill. These cavitation devices are said to be capable of creating cavities of various sizes and axisymmetric shapes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,239 to Mirza discloses a percutaneous surgical cavitation device adapted for use with a high-speed surgical drill. The Mirza cavitation device comprises an elongated shaft and a separate cutting tip that is connected to one end of the shaft by a freely rotating hinge. A preferred cavitation device and method is described in patent application Ser. No. 09/872,042 to Middleton et. al, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The Middleton cavitation device is comprised of a rotatable shaft interconnected to flexible cutting element. The flexible cutting element has a first shape suitable for minimally invasive passage into tissue, and the flexible cutting element has a means to move toward a second shape suitable for forming a cavity in tissue. Several preferred embodiments can be adapted to either a powered or manual surgical drill.
Referring now to
With respect to cavitation devices adapted for use with surgical drills, attainable bone cavity shapes include cylindrical, hemispherical, or spherical. However, other shapes are possible, as well as interconnecting composite bone cavities. In addition, a bone cavity, or multiple bone cavities can exist along a pilot hole. Additional preparation of the pilot hole and bone cavity can include irrigation and suction of cut bone and the administration of various medicines.
Depending on the nature of the selected in-situ hardenable materials numerous injection devices and supporting devices can be appropriate for delivery. The simplest devices can be in the form of a syringe, or an injection device can be described as an application gun. Some in-situ hardenable materials are comprised of two or more compounds mixed together to form an injectable material that hardens or cures in-situ through a chemical reaction. Mixing can occur in a separate device or an injection device can have a means for storing multiple compounds and mixing them during the injection process. For example, the manual injection device for Orthovita's Cortoss™ includes dual cartridges wherein polymerization is initiated when Cortoss™ is expressed through a “static mix-tip”.
Syringe-like injection devices will be used to further illustrate the preferred methods, but these injection devices do not necessarily pertain to a specific in-situ hardenable material. Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
A second preferred method is depicted in
A special case of the second preferred method relates to preformed elements with a screw thread, for example, preformed element 430 depicted in
Previous discussion of methods establishes several fundamental steps of orthopaedic fixation with an in-situ formed anchor; however, variations thereof, and additional steps are also within the spirit of the present invention. For example, a bone cavity, to serve as a mold for an in-situ formed anchor can have multiple access holes and numerous devices can be used in communication with the bone cavity. Referring now to
A preferred embodiment of an injection device includes a valve-flange adapted to control the flow of matter from a bone cavity. Referring now to
From the description above, a number of advantages of the present invention become evident. An in-situ formed anchor establishes a broad foundation, securely fastening an implant to osteoporotic cancellous bone in an interlocking manner. Orthopaedic implant fixation with an in-situ formed anchor can be applied to a wide range of orthopaedic implants and applications. Those skilled in the art can envision retrofitting existing implant systems with the present invention. Relatively low pressures associated with distributing an injectable material within a bone cavity will allow in-situ hardenable materials to be delivered more effectively. The use of an injectable, in-situ hardenable materials also allow the present invention to be adapted to minimally invasive surgical techniques.
The preferred embodiments and preferred methods presented in this disclosure are examples. Those skilled in the art can develop modifications and variants that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, multiple preformed elements can interlock with a single in-situ formed anchor. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Claims
1-6. (canceled)
7. An orthopaedic system comprising: and
- a pilot hole and entry in a tissue, wherein the entry provides for the pilot hole, the pilot hole having a first diameter, wherein the tissue comprises musculoskeletal tissue;
- a cavity in communication with the pilot hole, the cavity having a cavity boundary and a second diameter larger than the first diameter of the pilot hole, wherein the cavity is positioned distal to the pilot hole;
- a preformed element positioned at least partially within the cavity, the preformed element comprising: a shank having a diameter, a length, a proximal portion, and one or more interlocking elements associated with a distal portion of the shank, wherein the length of the shank is sized so that the distal portion remains within the cavity and the one or more interlocking elements are in contact with a hardenable material in a hardened state, wherein there is a substantial space between the one or more interlocking elements and a portion of the cavity boundary;
- an in-situ formed anchor within the cavity, the in-situ formed anchor comprising: the hardenable material at least partially within the cavity and interlocking with the one or more interlocking elements, wherein the in-situ formed anchor has a third diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the preformed element and substantially larger than the first diameter of the pilot hole.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the hardenable material is injectable.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the hardenable material is selected from the group consisting of bone cement, polymethylmethacrylate-based bone cement, load-bearing polymer, synthetic bone substitute, thermoplastic, thermosetting polymer and combinations thereof.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein the preformed element is rigid and made of material selected from the group consisting of one or more metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.
11. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more interlocking elements are selected from the group consisting of surface treatments, flanges, serrations, screw threads, holes, slots, grooves, flutes, dimples, and combinations thereof.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is one of the group selected from a compression hip system, intramedullary nail system, suture anchor, and combinations thereof.
13. The system of claim 7, wherein the system stabilizes fractures.
14. The system of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the cavity boundary is soft musculoskeletal tissue.
15. The system of claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the cavity boundary is bone.
16. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more interlocking elements are selected from the group consisting of apertures, surface treatments, flanges, serrations, cannulated bone screws, non-cannulated bone screws, screw threads, holes, slots, grooves, flutes, dimples.
17. The system of claim 7, wherein the hardenable material is in a flowable state.
18. The system of claim 7, wherein the hardenable material is in a hardened state.
19. An orthopaedic system comprising:
- a pilot hole in musculoskeletal tissue having a pilot hole entry, the pilot hole further comprising a first diameter;
- a cavity in the musculoskeletal tissue, wherein the cavity is in direct communication with the pilot hole, the cavity having a boundary and a diameter larger than the first diameter of the pilot hole, wherein the cavity is distal to the pilot hole entry;
- an in-situ anchor formed from one or more injectable hardenable materials, wherein the one or more injectable hardenable materials are in contact with one or more interlocking elements for interlocking the in-situ anchor with a preformed element, wherein the in-situ anchor has a diameter substantially larger than the first diameter of the pilot hole; and
- a preformed element comprising: a body having a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion has the one or more interlocking elements adapted for flow of the one or more injectable hardenable materials, wherein at least the distal portion of the body is positioned within the cavity such that there is substantial space between the one or more interlocking elements and the boundary of the cavity.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more injectable hardenable materials are selected from the group consisting of bone cement, polymethylmethacrylate-based bone cement, load-bearing polymer, synthetic bone substitute, thermoplastic, thermosetting polymer and combinations thereof.
21. The system of claim 19, wherein the preformed element is rigid and made of material selected from the group consisting of one or more metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more interlocking elements are selected from the group consisting of surface treatments, flanges, serrations, screw threads, holes, slots, grooves, flutes, dimples, and combinations thereof.
23. The system of claim 19, wherein the system is one of the group selected from a compression hip system, intramedullary nail system, suture anchor, and combinations thereof.
24. The system of claim 19, wherein the system stabilizes fractures.
25. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of the cavity boundary is soft musculoskeletal tissue.
26. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of the cavity boundary is bone.
27. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more interlocking elements are selected from the group consisting of apertures, surface treatments, flanges, serrations, cannulated bone screws, non-cannulated bone screws, screw threads, holes, slots, grooves, flutes, dimples.
28. The system of claim 19, wherein the injectable hardenable material is in a flowable state.
29. The system of claim 19, wherein the injectable hardenable material is in a hardened state.
30. The system of claim 19, wherein the preformed element is partially within the cavity.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 6, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 13, 2009
Inventor: Lance M. Middleton (Trumbull, CT)
Application Number: 12/367,396
International Classification: A61B 17/56 (20060101); A61B 17/84 (20060101);