BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed generally to surgical tools and instruments and, more particularly, to drill guide arm for providing guidance for placement of a bone tunnel.

2. Description of Related Art

During orthopedic surgeries, holes are often drilled in bones. In some procedures, a drill guide, such as that shown inFIG. 1, is used to line-up the drill to ensure the drilled tunnel is in the appropriate location. Many bone surfaces to be drilled have severe contours that vary from patient to patient. Due to the contours, it can be difficult to properly seat the drill guide against the bone. This is particularly true when the drill guide is used to assist in drilling a femoral bone tunnel during PCL reconstruction.

Many conventional drill guide assemblies are used in conjunction with a guide body, guide arm, and drill guide sleeve. Conventional drill guide assemblies also require a threaded mechanism to prevent the guide arm from falling out of the drill guide assembly. In some instances, current drill guide assemblies require additional instruments for the surgical procedure. As the number of instruments, parts, and pieces increases, the risk of potential concomitant damage to surrounding structures increases. This increased risk is due to the number of times an instrument or part is inserted and removed from the surgical site.

Therefore, there is a need for a drill guide device or system that incorporates multiple features, reducing the quantity of instruments or parts used at a surgical site.

Description of the Related Art Section Disclaimer: To the extent that specific patents/publications/products are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section or elsewhere in this disclosure, these discussions should not be taken as an admission that the discussed patents/publications/products are prior art for patent law purposes. For example, some or all of the discussed patents/publications/products may not be sufficiently early in time, may not reflect subject matter developed early enough in time and/or may not be sufficiently enabling so as to amount to prior art for patent law purposes. To the extent that specific patents/publications/products are discussed above in this Description of the Related Art Section and/or throughout the application, the descriptions/disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference into this document in their respective entirety(ies).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a drill guide arm that is optimal for providing guidance for placement/formation of a bone tunnel, while protecting against trauma. According to one aspect, the guide arm includes a first arm at a proximal end connected at a first angle to a second arm. The second arm extends to a distal end along a first axis. The first angle can be within the range of 80°-110°. The guide arm also includes a distal tip extending at a second angle from the second arm at the distal end and an indicator feature extending from the distal tip toward the first arm. The indicator feature extends along a second axis and the second axis is substantially parallel to the first axis.

According to another aspect, the guide arm includes a first arm at a proximal end connected at an angle to a second arm. The second arm extends to a distal end along a first axis. The angle can be within range of 80°-110°. The guide arm also includes a distal tip extending from the second arm at the distal end and a shield feature of the distal tip. The shield feature has a width wider than the remainder of the distal tip. In an embodiment, the shield feature includes an aperture extending therethrough which is configured to receive a guide pin.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

