Adjustable resection guide

1. An adjustable resection guide for guiding a cutter to cut bone adjacent a knee joint to prepare the bone to receive an implant, the knee joint including articulating ends of a tibia and a femur and having a medial aspect, a lateral aspect, an anterior aspect, and a posterior aspect, the tibia having a tibial axis extending from a proximal end near the knee joint to a distal end near an ankle joint, the guide comprising:

an elongated base member having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis therebetween, the base member being positionable adjacent the tibia with the longitudinal axis parallel to the tibial axis;

a tibial cut guide having a guide surface for guiding a cutter to cut the tibia;

a mediolateral adjustment mechanism interposed between the base member and the tibial cut guide, the mediolateral adjustment mechanism operable to adjust the tibial cut guide mediolaterally relative to the base member;

a proximal-distal adjustment mechanism interposed between the base member and the tibial cut guide, the proximal-distal adjustment mechanism operable to adjust the tibial cut guide proximal-distally relative to the base member independently of the mediolateral adjustment, the mediolateral and proximal-distal adjustment mechanisms permitting the tibial cut guide to be positioned at a desired location adjacent the proximal tibia; and

a modular femoral cut guide mountable to the tibial cut guide in relative anteroposterior translating relationship, the femoral cut guide having a guide surface for guiding a cutter to cut the femur.

2. The resection guide of claim 1 wherein the guide surface of the femoral cut guide and the guide surface of the tibial cut guide are in fixed proximal-distal spacing while the femoral cut guide is adjusted anterioposteriorly relative to the tibial cut guide.

3. The resection guide of claim 2 wherein the femoral cut guide is mountable on the tibial cut guide via a dovetail rail and slot.

4. The resection guide of claim 1 wherein the femoral cut guide further includes a paddle extending posteriorly, the paddle being engageable with the femur to establish the desired proximal-distal location of the tibial and femoral cut guides.

5. The resection guide of claim 4 wherein the paddle is removably mounted to the femoral cut guide.

6. The resection guide of claim 1 further including a locking pin removably engageable with the tibial cut guide and the femoral cut guide to prevent relative translation between them.

7. The resection guide of claim 1 wherein the modular femoral cut guide is mountable to the tibial cut guide in both relative anteroposterior translating relationship and relative mediolateral translating relationship.

8. The resection guide of claim 7 wherein the femoral cut guide includes a paddle extending therefrom and the tibial cut guide includes a mediolaterally and anteroposteriorly extending slot able to receive the paddle in relative mediolateral and anteroposterior translating relationship.

9. The resection guide of claim 8 wherein the paddle is engageable with the femur to establish the desired proximal-distal location of the tibial and femoral cut guides.

10. A method for guiding a cutter to cut bone adjacent a knee joint to prepare the bone to receive an implant, the knee joint including articulating ends of a tibia and a femur and having a medial aspect, a lateral aspect, an anterior aspect, and a posterior aspect, the tibia having a tibial axis extending from a proximal end near the knee joint to a distal end near an ankle joint, the method comprising:

providing a resection guide comprising a tibial cut guide having means for guiding a cutter to cut the tibia, a femoral cut guide mounted to the tibial cut guide in relative anteroposterior translating relationship, the femoral cut guide comprising means for guiding a cutter to cut the femur;

positioning the resection guide adjacent the tibia;

translating the femoral cut guide anteroposteriorly relative to the tibial cut guide to a desired anteroposterior position relative to the femur; and

positioning the femoral and tibial cut guides simultaneously proximal-distally by moving the cut guides together as a unit and referencing the proximal tibial surface to set the resection level for both guides.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising: inserting a pin into the resection guide to temporarily lock the relative position of the tibial and femoral cut guides; and removing the pin to permit adjustment of the relative position of the tibial and femoral cut guides.

12. A method for guiding a cutter to cut bone adjacent a knee joint to prepare the bone to receive an implant, the knee joint including articulating ends of a tibia and a femur and having a medial aspect, a lateral aspect, an anterior aspect, and a posterior aspect, the tibia having a tibial axis extending from a proximal end near the knee joint to a distal end near an ankle joint, the method comprising:

providing a resection guide comprising a tibial cut guide having means for guiding a cutter to cut the tibia, a femoral cut guide mounted to the tibial cut guide in relative anteroposterior translating relationship, the femoral cut guide comprising means for guiding a cutter to cut the femur;

positioning the resection guide adjacent the tibia;

translating the femoral cut guide anteroposteriorly relative to the tibial cut guide to a desired anteroposterior position relative to the femur; and

positioning the femoral and tibial cut guides simultaneously proximal-distally by moving the cut guides together as a unit and referencing the femur to set the resection level for both guides.

13. A method for guiding a cutter to cut bone adjacent a knee joint to prepare the bone to receive an implant, the knee joint including articulating ends of a tibia and a femur and having a medial aspect, a lateral aspect, an anterior aspect, and a posterior aspect, the tibia having a tibial axis extending from a proximal end near the knee joint to a distal end near an ankle joint, the method comprising:

providing a resection guide comprising a tibial cut guide having means for guiding a cutter to cut the tibia, a femoral cut guide mounted to the tibial cut guide in relative anteroposterior translating relationship, the femoral cut guide comprising means for guiding a cutter to cut the femur;

positioning the resection guide adjacent the tibia; and

translating the femoral cut guide anteroposteriorly relative to the tibial cut guide to a desired anteroposterior position relative to the femur;

wherein the femoral cut guide is mounted to the tibial cut guide both in relative anteroposterior translating relationship and relative mediolateral translating relationship, the method further comprising: translating the femoral cut guide mediolaterally relative to the tibial cut guide to a desired mediolateral position relative to the femur.