Bone cutting tool and method of use

1. A system for forming a channel in a bone comprising:

a guide wire having a leading and trailing end; and

a rotatable boring tool having proximal end and a distal end, said distal end including a cutting element, and said proximal end adapted to be connected to a power source for rotating said tool to bore into bone, said tool having a wall surrounding an axial bore for slidably receiving said guide wire, said bore being adapted to permit said guide wire to slide axially through said bore when said tool is connected to said power source and while said tool is boring into bone, and said wall adjacent said proximal end having an elongated opening therethrough in communication with said bore, said elongated opening being adapted to permit viewing of axial sliding movement of said guide wire trailing end during rotation of said boring tool while said tool is connected to said power source and said tool is boring into bone;

wherein the guide wire is extendable into the bone distally beyond the cutting element of the boring tool and up to a desired depth of the channel to be formed by the cutting element.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said opening is in the form of an elongated slot.

3. The system as set forth in claim 2 wherein a second elongated slot is located on an opposite side of said wall from said elongated slot.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the elongated opening has a first end and a second end, the first end being spaced from the proximal end of the boring tool, and the second end of the opening being located closer to the cutting element than the first end of the opening.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the guide wire is a Kirschner wire.

6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cutting element has cutting features adapted to cut bone while said tool is rotating and boring into bone, said cutting features extending along a longitudinal axis of said tool.

7. A boring tool for bone, comprising:

a shank having a rotatable cutting tool at a distal end thereof and a drive portion at a proximal end thereof, the shank and cutting tool having a cannulation therethrough, the shank having a pair of diametrically opposed windows therein proximate the proximal end, and the shank having a radially outwardly extending slideable lock portion between the shank distal end and the drive portion, the lock portion being slideable distally and proximally along the shank, the distal end of the shank spaced distally of the lock portion and the drive portion spaced proximally of the lock portion; and

a guide wire slidably received within the cannulation in the shank and cutting tool and having a trailing end viewable through the windows in the shank during rotation of said shank while said shank is connected to a power source and said shank is boring into bone, the guide wire being extendable into a bone distally beyond the cutting tool of the shank and up to a desired depth of a bore to be formed by the cutting tool.

8. The boring tool for bone as set forth in claim 7 wherein said pair of windows extends parallel to the cannulation in the shank.

9. The boring tool for bone as set forth in claim 7 wherein said diametrically opposed windows extend in parallel.

10. The boring tool for bone as set forth in claim 7 wherein each one of the pair of diametrically opposed windows has a first end and a second end, the first end of each window being spaced from the drive portion, and the second end of each window being located closer to the cutting tool than the first end of the respective window.

11. The boring tool for bone as set forth in claim 7 wherein the guide wire is a Kirschner wire.

12. The boring tool for bone as set forth in claim 7 wherein said cutting tool has cutting features adapted to cut bone while said shank is rotating and boring into bone, said cutting features extending along a longitudinal axis of said shank.

13. A system for forming a channel in a bone comprising:

a guide wire having a leading and trailing end; and

an elongate, rotatable boring tool extending along a longitudinal axis, said tool having a boring portion and a drive portion, said boring portion including a cutting element having cutting features adapted to cut bone while said tool is rotating and boring into bone, said cutting features extending along said longitudinal axis, said drive portion disposed proximally of said boring portion along said longitudinal axis of said tool, said drive portion adapted to be connected to a power source for rotating said tool to bore into bone, said tool having a wall surrounding an axial bore for slidably receiving said guide wire, said bore being adapted to permit said guide wire to slide axially through said bore when said tool is connected to said power source and while said tool is boring into bone, and said wall in said drive portion having an elongated opening therethrough in communication with said bore, said elongated opening being adapted to permit viewing of axial sliding movement of said guide wire trailing end during rotation of said boring tool while said tool is connected to said power source and said tool is boring into bone;

wherein the guide wire is extendable into the bone distally beyond the cutting element of the boring tool and up to a desired depth of the channel to be formed by the cutting element.

14. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein said opening is in the form of an elongated slot extending along said longitudinal axis of said tool.

15. The system as set forth in claim 14 wherein a second elongated slot is located on an opposite side of said wall from said elongated slot.

16. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the elongated opening has a first end and a second end, the first end being spaced from a proximal end of the boring tool, and the second end of the opening being located closer to the boring portion than the first end of the opening.

17. The system as set forth in claim 13 wherein the guide wire is a Kirschner wire.