Invention (Patent): David T. Prosthetic device for use as a hip joint US4092741 (1978).
US4092741A United States
Inventor: Thomas David
Current Assignee: Firma Ludwig Bertram GmbH & Co. KG,
Hannover, Germany
Worldwide applications 1977 US
Application US05/821,174 events:
1975-06-26 Priority claimed from AT494175A
1977-08-02 Application filed by Firma Ludwig Bertram GmbH &
Co.
1978-06-06 Application granted
1978-06-06 Publication of US4092741A
1995-06-06 Anticipated expiration
Status: Expired - Lifetime
PROSTHETIC DEVICE FOR USE AS A HIP JOINT
This is a division of application Ser. No. 699,841,
filed
June 25, 1976, now abandoned.
Abstract
A prosthetic device for use as a hip joint comprises a
substantially spherical portion locatable in the acetubular fossa of a pelvis
bone, and a longitudinal portion locatable in a thighbone. The spherical
portion is anchored within the fossa by a holding member which is fixed to the
fossa.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention.
The invention relates to a prosthetic device for use
as a hip joint.
2. Description of the prior art.
There has been proposed a prosthetic device for use as
a hip joint comprising a substantially spherical portion anchorable in the
acetabular fossa of a pelvis bone, and an elongate portion, anchorable in a
thighbone, and which is directed at an angle towards the substantially spherical
portion.
To insert such a prosthetic device it is necessary to
fit and anchor an artificial fossa in the pelvis bone, in an area of this bone
which is very thin-walled. For this purpose, it is necessary, in the course of
laborious surgical work, to produce a rear-cut recess in the pelvis bone, and
this is impeded to a large extent by the muscular tissue which is particularly
strong in this area. For this reason aso, it is difficult and laborious to
produce a reliable anchorage of the device on the pelvis bone
SUMMARY OF THE
INVENTION
According to
the present invention, there is provided a prosthetic device for use as a hip
joint, said device comprising a substantially spherical portion engageable in
the acetabular fossa of a pelvis bone, a longitudinal portion anchorable in a
thighbone, and inclined with respect to said substantially spherical portion,
and at least one holding member locatable in the pelvis bone for anchoring the
spherical portion in the fossa.
The
manipulations which are necessary for the actual fitting of the device, and
which have to be carried out from the outside of the pelvis bone, are optimally
simplified, as a result of which the fixing of a suitable holding member can be
carried out advantageously from the inside of the pelvis bone which is
relatively accessible and is not hindered by the muscular tissue of the thigh
and the hip.
In one
preferred embodiment of the invention, the holding member is inserted from the
side situated oposite the fossa, and therefore from the inside of the pelvis
bone, into a hole which passes through the pelvis bone and which is made
beforehand; the holding member can, for this purpose, have a shaft which
extends through the hole and a fixing head which engages the internal side of
the pelvis bone, that is the side opposite the fossa.
The device can
be fixed in any desired manner to the shaft. Advantageously, the shaft of the
holding member has a threaded hole onto which it is possible to screw an
externally threaded shaft of a preferably metallic fixing member forming part
of the substantially spherical portion of the device which consists of an
elastic material. Since the device consists substantially of an elastic
material, the possibility is afforded of inserting the device and fixing it in
the pelvis bone in a particularly simple manner as will now be described.
After an
operation has exposed the fossa of the pelvis bone, first of all at least one
hole is formed through the pelvis bone, for example by drilling. The shaft of
the holding member is introduced into this hole, from the inside of the pelvis
bone opposite the fossa until the fixing head lies on the pelvis bone. Then the
shaft of the fixing member of the spherical portion of the device is screwed
into the threaded hole of the shaft of the fixing member; during this stage the
longitudinally-extending portion of the device is resiliently deformed to such
an extent that it extends substantially along the axial direction of the
threaded hole, and can be used as a grip during screwing. Then the
longitudinally-extending portion of the device is introduced axially into a
recess prepared in the thighbone and is anchored therein by subsequent growth
of the surrounding tissue.
In another
preferred embodiment of the invention, the substantially spherical portion of
the prosthetic device consists of metal or other rigid material, pivotally
mounted in a housing fixed by at least one holding member, which housing
comprises a support portion in the form of a part-spherical cup and a closure
portion forming a cover for the cup. This housing is fixed for example in the
fossa of the pelvis bone by means of several screws or similar fixing members,
sunk in, and preferably extending substantially radially from the cup. Since
the device consists not of an elastic material but of a rigid material, the
method of inserting this device is also different as will now be described.
After an
operation has exposed the fossa of the pelvis bone, at least one hole is formed
in the pelvis bone for example by drilling. By means of a screw or like holding
member located in this hole from the outside of the pelvis bone, and embedded
into the support portion, the support portion of the housing is fixed in the fossa.
The spherical portion of the device is then inserted into the cup, the
longitudinally-extending portion of the device having been screwed in
beforehand into the thighbone after the closure portion of the housing has been
pushed onto the longitudinally-extending portion. Finally the closure portion
is secured on the supporting portion to hold the spherical portion in the
housing.
This
alternative embodiment is rather more complicated to install than the first
embodiment and will normally be used only in cases in which the stresses
imposed on the device are such that a device formed mainly of plastics material
would be liable to deformation during use.
BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The embodiments
of the invention will now be further described, by way of example only with
reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a
section through the first embodiment of the prosthetic device, the device being
composed substantially of elastic plastic material;
FIG. 2 is a
section through the second embodiment of the of the device, the device being
composed of metal or other rigid material; and
FIG. 3 is a
section taken on line III--III of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF
THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The prosthetic
device shown in FIG. 1 comprises a substantially spherical portion 3 fixed in
the fossa 1 of a pelvis bone 2, and a
longitudinally-extending shank portion 5, which is pivotable as a
result of the elasticity of the plastic material and which is fixed in a
thighbone 4. The prosthetic device is a substantially one-piece construction
composed of a biologically compatible plastics material of composition known
per se, for example a medicinal silicone of the hard type. The spherical
portion 3 is fixed to a holding member 7 passing through a hole 6 in
the pelvis bone 2, the member 7 being introduced into
the hole 6 from the side opposite the fossa 1, and therefore from the
inside of the pelvis bone 2. For this purpose the holding member 7
has a shaft 8 which is inserted into the hole 6, and which
is provided with a fixing head 9 applied against the inside of the pelvis
bone 2.
The shaft 8
of the holding member 7 has a threaded hole 10 in which is screwed a shaft 12,
provided with an external thread 11, of a preferably metallic fixing
member 13 of the spherical portion 3. This metallic fixing
member 13 is embedded in the plastics material forming the spherical
portion 3 of the device, preferably by casting the plastics material of the
portion 3 around the fixing member 13. The fixing member is
preferably provided with notches or other formations on its surface to improve
the anchorage between the fixing member and the plastics material of the
spherical portions. The spherical portion 3 of the device is supported in the
fossa 1 of the pelvis bone 2 with a play of about 1 to 2 mm.
The insertion
of this prosthetic device has been described above. The
longitudinally-extending portion 5 can be deformed and pivoted to
such an extent that it can be used as a grip for screwing the shaft 12 into the
threaded hole 10 of the shaft 8. In this way the insertion of the
device is very simple and is not impeded to any great degree by the presence of
the muscular tissue above the thighbone.
The zone of
connection between the spherical portion 3 and of the
longitudinally-extending portion 5 is subject to relatively high
stresses and may suffer -- when the stresses are pronounced -- an elastic
deformation, although this may only be slight. If it is absolutely necessary to
prevent this alteration of shape, the prosthetic device can be made of a rigid
material, for example metal, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
In this
embodiment, the substantially spherical portion 3 of the device is preferably
made of metal or similar rigid material, and anchored in the fossa 1 of
the pelvis bone 2, is rotatably mounted in a housing 15, preferably
composed of plastics or the like. The housing 15 comprises a support 16 in the
form of a part-spherical cup and a closure portion 17 forming a cover
for the cup. The closure portion 17 is fixed by means
of screws 18 or other removable securing means distributed at regular
intervals around the periphery of the closure portion 17 and engaged
with the support portion 16.
The housing 15
is fixed in the fossa 1 of the pelvis bone 2 by
holding members 14 in the form of screws 19 or other
suitable securing means, extending substantially radially with respect to the
support portion 16, and embedded in the inner wall of the support portion 16.
The
longitudinally-extended portion 5 of the device has
a thread 20 and is axially screwed in the thighbone 4, while the
threads slightly engage into the compacta of this bone which gradually grows
around the thread 20 whereby the portion 5 is rigidly
anchored. The method of insertion of this prosthetic device has also been
already described in detail above.
The prosthetic
device may be formed from materials other than those particularly described and
the shape and configuration of the various parts may be different from that
shown, for example the fixing member embedded in the plastics material of the
spherical portion 3 may have any regular or irregular profile.
I claim:
1. A hip joint
prosthesis comprising a substantially spherical portion capable of being
anchored in the acetubular fossa of a pelvic bone, a shank portion capable of
being anchored in a femur, the spherical portion and the shank portion being
integral and being com posed of an elastic material, fixing means associated with
the spherical portion, and at least one holding member co-operable with the
fixing means to anchor the spherical portion in the fossa, said holding member being
anchorable in the pelvic bone by being inserted into a hole, previously made
through the pelvic bone, from the side opposite the fossa and said holding member
comprising a shaft for insertion into the hole in the pelvic bone, and a fixing
head on the shaft engageable against the side of the pelvic bone opposite the
fossa, the shaft of the holding member having a threaded hole and the fixing
means comprising a fixing element having a threaded shaft extending from the
spherical portion and engageable in the threaded hole.
2. A prosthesis
according to claim 1, wherein the fixing element has an anchoring portion and
the flexible material forming the spherical portion of the prosthesis is cast
around the anchoring portion of the fixing element whereby to anchor the fixing
element to the spherical portion.
3. A prosthesis
according to claim 2, wherein the flexible material is a plastics material and
the fixing element is a metal element.
References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
2,765,787 10/1956 Pellet 128/92 CA
3,067,740 12/1962 Haboush 128/92 CA
3,893,196 7/1975 Hochman 3/1.913 X
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
1,047,640 7/1953 France 128/92 C
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
McBride Type (Door Knob) Hip, Advertisement Page 4 by Austenal Labs, Inc.,
The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Jan. 1952.
Primary Examiner - Ronald L. Frinks
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Larson, Taylor and Hinds
External links
David T. Prosthetic
device for use as a hip joint US4092741A June 26, 1975. 1978. patents.google
Authors & Affiliations
Thomas
David, Vienna, Austria
Keywords
ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, endoprosthesis, prosthesis, invention, unipolar, subtotal
NB! Fair practice / use: copied for the purposes of criticism, review, comment, research and private study in accordance with Copyright Laws of the US: 17 U.S.C. §107; Copyright Law of the EU: Dir. 2001/29/EC, art.5/3a,d; Copyright Law of the RU: ГК РФ ст.1274/1.1-2,7
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