as used herein , when referring to the drill guides of the present invention , the term “ proximal ” means closer to the surgeon or in a direction toward the surgeon and the term “ distal ” means more distant from the surgeon or in a direction away from the surgeon . the term “ anterior ” means towards the front part of the body or the face and the term “ posterior ” means towards the back of the body . the term “ medial ” means toward the midline of the body and the term “ lateral ” means away from the midline of the body . fig1 shows a bone 180 having a canal 190 . bone 180 may be any type of bone , but as shown it represents a tibia of a patient . canal 190 can be formed through a reaming procedure or may be present due to a previous joint replacement procedure in which a tibial prosthesis was implanted in canal 190 and has now been removed leaving a void in bone 180 . canal 190 can also be present because of bone degeneration such as osteoporosis . the present invention includes systems and methods for implanting a joint prosthesis in order fill a void in bone as needed , such as canal 190 , and to properly position a support surface of the joint prosthesis for receiving a corresponding prosthesis such as a tibial or femoral insert . referring to fig2 - 14 , there is shown an embodiment of a joint prosthesis system of the present invention designated generally by reference numeral 100 . as shown in those figures , system 100 includes a baseplate component 110 , a spacer component 120 , a void filler component 130 , an adapter component 140 , a locknut , a stem component 160 and an insert component 170 . baseplate component 110 preferably has a top surface 112 and a bottom surface 114 , the bottom surface having a stem portion 116 protruding outwardly therefrom , the stem portion having at least one rib 210 located along at least a portion of a length thereof . first and second keels 117 , 119 preferably extend outwardly from the stem portion 116 of the baseplate component 110 , wherein each rib 210 extends along at least a portion of a length of the outer surface of the stem portion and are located at different locations around a circumference thereof . spacer component 120 preferably has a top surface 122 , a bottom surface 124 , an inner surface 126 , an outer surface 128 , and an aperture 129 extending through the top and bottom surfaces 124 , 122 thereof . inner surface 126 preferably has at least one recess 200 formed therein and the outer surface 128 preferably has at least one spline or protrusion 220 extending outwardly therefrom . spacer component 120 preferably includes an aperture 125 extending through the inner and outer surfaces 126 , 128 thereof forming a first space 127 a and a second space 127 b located around a circumference of the spacer component such that a portion of the first keel 117 can be received in the first space 127 a and a portion of the second keel 119 can be received in the second space 127 b when the spacer component 120 is coupled to the stem portion 116 of the baseplate component 110 . void filler component 130 preferably has a top surface 132 , a bottom surface 134 , an inner surface 136 , an outer surface 138 , and an aperture 139 extending through the top and bottom surfaces 132 , 134 thereof , the inner surface 136 having a plurality of recesses 230 , 240 , 250 formed therein . outer surface 138 of void filler component preferably includes a plurality of sections having different diameters . preferably , the diameters of the sections decrease form the top surface 132 to the bottom surface 134 . examples of properties of void filler component 130 is aiding in carrying patient weight by distributing the weight over the remaining bone , such as bone 180 ; and providing stability by helping to position the baseplate component 110 and preventing undesired rotation thereof . spacer component 120 is coupled to baseplate component 110 when aperture 129 of the spacer component 120 receives the stem portion 116 of the baseplate component 110 and the at least one rib 210 of the stem portion 116 is located in the at least one recess 200 of the spacer component 120 . void filler component 130 is coupled to the spacer component 120 when the aperture 139 of the void filler component 130 receives the outer surface 128 of the spacer component 120 and the at least one protrusion 220 of the spacer component 120 is located in the at least one recess 230 , 240 , 250 of the void filler component 130 . void filler component 130 preferably slides over spacer component 120 and provides support for the baseplate component 110 in joint prosthesis system 100 . adapter component 140 preferably fastens to stem portion 116 of baseplate component 110 with locknut 150 . stem component 160 preferably fastens into adapter component 140 . insert component 170 preferably rests on top surface 112 of baseplate component 110 . in an alternative embodiment , stem component 160 could connect directly to stem portion 116 . spacer component 120 preferably includes a longitudinal axis 320 passing through the center of spacer component 120 in a superior to inferior direction or vice versa . alternatively , spacer component may be offset such that longitudinal axis 320 does not pass through the center of spacer component 120 . void filler component 130 preferably includes a longitudinal axis 360 passing through the center of void filler component 130 in a superior to inferior direction or vice versa . alternatively , void filler component 130 may be offset such that longitudinal axis 360 does not pass through the center of void filler component 130 . as shown in fig4 , the spacer component 120 includes three orientation slots or recesses 200 to define its angular orientation as it is installed on the baseplate component 110 . these three slots 200 are angularly spaced approximately 30 degrees apart from the longitudinal axis 320 of the spacer component 120 . during assembly , one of these orientation slots or recesses 200 is mated with a indexing boss or rib 121 on the baseplate component 110 . while this embodiment shows three orientation slots , which are spaced approximately 30 degrees apart , other embodiments may contain a different number of slots and may be spaced different degrees apart . as shown in fig5 , the spacer component 120 includes external spline features or protrusions 220 . as shown in fig6 , these features mate with corresponding slots or recess pairs 230 , 240 , 250 in the void filler component 130 . the recess pairs 230 , 240 , 250 provide different installation angles between the spacer component 120 and the void filler component 130 . slot pairs 240 and 250 are preferably oriented 27 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise , respectively , from the central pair of slots 230 . slot pairs 240 and 250 may be oriented between 5 and 85 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise , respectively , from central pair of slots 230 . while this embodiment shows three recess pairs spaced apart approximately 27 degrees , other embodiments may contain a different number of recess pairs and may be spaced different degrees apart . fig7 shows a bottom view of the baseplate component 110 with the spacer component 120 installed with the central slot of the three orientation slots 200 ( not shown ) mated with the indexing boss or rib 210 ( not shown ) of the baseplate component 110 . fig8 shows the void filler component 130 installed with its central slots 230 mating with the external spline features 220 of the spacer component 120 . as can be seen in fig8 , a horizontal axis 260 of the void filler component 130 is aligned parallel with a horizontal axis 270 of the baseplate component 110 . fig9 shows the baseplate component 110 installed or assembled with the spacer component 120 with the left - most slot of its three orientation slots 200 ( not shown ) mated with the indexing boss or rib 210 ( not shown ) of the baseplate component 110 . this view also shows the void filler component 130 installed with alternate slots 240 mating with the external spline features 220 of the spacer component 120 . in this assembly orientation , the horizontal axis 260 of the void filler component 130 preferably makes a 3 degree clockwise angle to the horizontal axis 270 of the baseplate component 110 ( 3 degrees being the difference between the 30 degree angular spacing on the spacer component 120 and the 27 degree spacing on the void filler component 130 . fig1 shows the baseplate component 110 installed with the spacer component 120 with the right - most slot of its three orientation slots 200 ( not shown ) mated with the indexing boss 210 ( not shown ) of the baseplate component 110 . this view also shows the void filler component 130 installed with alternate slots 250 mating with the external spline features 220 of the spacer component 120 . in this assembly orientation , the horizontal axis 260 of the void filler component 130 makes a 3 degree counter - clockwise angle to the horizontal axis 270 of the baseplate component 110 . fig1 shows one embodiment of a final assembly of the joint prosthesis system 100 , with void filler component 130 shown exploded . once the spacer component 120 is in place on the baseplate component 110 it is held in place by preferably screwing down the adapter component 140 and tightening the locknut 150 . typically , the stem component 160 will also be installed at this time . void filler component 130 can be removed and / or installed while the baseplate component 110 , the adapter component 140 , the locknut 150 and the stem component 160 are attached to each other . this is a particular advantage if the joint prosthesis system 100 needs to be later removed from the patient , since the baseplate component 110 along with the adapter component 140 , the locknut 150 and the stem component 160 can be removed from the patient as one assembly without needing to remove the void filler component 130 at the same time . one design detail shown in fig1 is that the adapter component 140 is optionally offset such that a longitudinal axis 290 thereof is offset from a longitudinal axis 280 of baseplate component 110 . this offset feature allows optimum coverage of the baseplate component 110 on the resected bone 180 , and also ensures that the stem component 160 can be implanted down canal 190 of bone 180 . fig8 , 9 , and 10 show that this particular combination of components will provide relative rotation between the baseplate component 110 and void filler component 130 of 0 °, + 3 °, and − 3 °. in instances where more rotation is necessary , the preferred method is to use a spacer component 120 for which the external spline features 220 are at a different angular orientation with respect to the orientation slots 200 . fig1 and 14 show side - by - side views of ( left ) the previously shown − 3 °/ 0 °/+ 3 ° spacer component 120 , and ( right ) a spacer component 120 which will orient the void filler component 130 at − 12 °/− 9 °/− 6 °. similarly , a spacer component 120 can have external spline features which will orient the void filler component 130 at + 6 °/+ 9 °/+ 12 °. while the external spline features may orient the void filler component at the above mentioned degrees , other embodiments may include a different number of splines and may orient the void filler component at different degrees . in another embodiment , splines or protrusions ( or other rotation prevention features ) are located on one interface only . fig1 shows an example of such a design in which finer splines 220 are used on only the interface between the spacer component 120 and the void filler component 130 . as shown in fig1 , multiple splined features 220 are in contact with recesses on void filler component 130 . this version of the design has the same angular adjustment capability as described with respect to the embodiment shown in fig2 - 14 , with the multiple splined features 220 adding to the torsional strength of the assembled joint prosthesis . in other embodiments , rotation control is provided by features other than splines . for example , semicircular protrusions on spacer component 120 may mate with semicircular clearances in the void filler component 130 . as another example , the spacer component 120 can have an outer surface polygonal in shape , with a matching shape to an aperture in the void filler component . fig1 shows a 12 - sided polygon for this interface , which gives the same 30 degree angular rotation between locking positions that can be seen in the embodiment shown in fig6 . many other shapes could be used to control rotation between the components of the prosthetic knee . other embodiments preferably include the use of different materials and / or coatings for each of the components of the system . in addition to the titanium alloy used in the preferred embodiment , cobalt chrome alloys , nitinol , stainless steel , peek , and other metals , polymers or composites could be used in embodiments of this invention . also , surface treatments to improve wear and / or galling resistance can be added . one example of this type of coating is titanium nitride . other coatings preferably have the same beneficial effect . surface treatments to encourage bony attachment such as porous coatings , hydroxyapatite , and tcp , for example , may be included in the design . also , surface treatments or additives in one or more of the materials used for the components in the systems described herein could be used to provide beneficial effects such as anti - microbial , analgesic or anti - inflammatory properties . spacer component 120 and void filler component 130 are both preferably made of a titanium alloy . other metals ( such as a cobalt - chromium alloy ), polymer , or composite materials could also be used . the embodiments of the joint prosthesis system described herein are shown with respect to the tibial portion of a prosthetic knee . the present invention is equally applicable for use in both the femoral and tibial portions of a prosthetic knee , as well as in other joints such as the shoulder , hip , elbow , and wrist , for example . although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments , it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention . it is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .
disclosed herein are systems and methods for filling bone voids which may be present at the time of surgery . the systems disclosed herein generally include a baseplate component , a spacer component , and void filler component . the spacer component is generally assembled to the baseplate component with a taper or press - fit , for example , in one of a plurality of selected axial positions . the void filler component is then generally assembled to the spacer component in one of a plurality of selected axial positions . the void filler component preferably has an outer surface with portions having varying diameters such that the outer surface thereof can be received within a canal of a bone and contact the bone forming the canal at different locations in order to aid in stabilizing the assembled components in the canal .