Bryan T Monroe

US Patent:

58430865, Dec 1, 1998

Filed:

Jul 29, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/902481

Inventors:

Richard F. Huyser - Kalamazoo MI
Dennis A. Stratton - Plainwell MI
Bryan T. Monroe - Austin TX

Assignee:

Stryker Corporation - Kalamazoo MI

International Classification:

A61B 1756

US Classification:

606 92

Abstract:

An instrument assembly for removing, as single segments, a mass of previously formed thermoplastic bone cement from a bone in a patient. A first component of the assembly includes an elongate probe having a heater tip assembly provided at one end thereof. A second component of the assembly includes an electrical system for supplying electricity to the aforesaid heater tip assembly when appropriately interconnected for effecting a heating of the heater tip. A releasable connectability of the first and second components facilitates a removal of the second component only to be replaced by a third component, namely, a hammer device so that repeated impact forces can be imparted to the elongate probe and the heater tip assembly of which is embedded in the bone cement until the impact force will cause the bone cement to crack and permit a segment thereof to be removed while being fixedly coupled to the elongate probe.