Distal femoral cutting guide

1. A method of positioning a femoral cutting guide on a distal end of a femur that establishes at least a first reference plane to perform a distal femoral planar cut, the method comprising:

inserting a mounting member into an intramedullary canal of the femur;

coupling a bridge member to the mounting member, the bridge member having a bridge channel;

placing a cutting guide member over a medial anterior portion of the distal femur, the cutting guide member having a first channel that establishes the first reference plane;

inserting a wall of the bridge channel into the first channel of the cutting guide member; and

overcoming a resistance generated by a mounting mechanism between the bridge member and the cutting guide member by positioning the cutting guide member relative to the femur; wherein the sliding resistance is provided by magnets.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein placing the cutting guide member over the medial anterior portion of the distal femur includes placing a portion of the cutting guide member over a medial surface and an anterior surface of the femur so as to at least be disposed over a portion of a medial anterior corner of the femur.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein overcoming a resistance generated by the mounting mechanism includes moving the cutting guide member relative to the femur in at least one of an anterior posterior direction, a medial lateral direction, a rotation about a longitudinal axis of the femur and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inhibiting movement of the cutting guide member in a superior distal direction relative to the femur when the cutting guide member is connected to the bridge member.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising passing the mounting member through an offset opening between first and second opposing surfaces of an index member.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising inserting a first elongated post of the bridge member into a first aperture on a peripheral wall of the index member.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising inserting a second elongated post of the bridge member into a second aperture on the peripheral wall of the index member, the second elongated post and second aperture having different cross-sectional sizes than the first elongated post and first aperture.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising engaging the first surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a right femur, and engaging the second surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a left femur.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising coupling the index member to the mounting member at a selected angle therebetween using a bushing.

10. A method of positioning a femoral cutting guide on a distal end of a femur that establishes at least a first reference plane to perform a distal femoral planar cut, the method comprising:

passing a mounting rod into a keyed bushing coupled to an offset opening through first and second opposing surfaces of an index member;

inserting the mounting rod into an intramedullary canal of the femur;

inserting first and second elongated posts of a bridge member into corresponding first and second apertures in a peripheral wall of the index member;

placing a cutting guide member over a medial anterior portion of the distal femur, the cutting guide member having a first channel that establishes the first reference plane;

inserting a wall of a bridge channel of the bridge member into the first channel of the cutting guide member; and

providing a sliding resistance between the bridge member and the cutting guide member by a mounting mechanism; wherein the sliding resistance is provided by magnets.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second apertures have cross-sections of different sizes.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising engaging the first surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a right femur and engaging the second surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a left femur.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising establishing a second reference plane spaced apart from the first reference plane in a direction that is superior to the first reference plane.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the second reference plane passes through a second channel of the cutting guide member.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the cutting guide member has an arcuate shape configured to be positioned over a portion of a medial surface and a portion of an anterior surface of the femur at a medial anterior corner of the distal end of the femur.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising selecting the bushing from a plurality of bushings for coupling the index member to the mounting rod at a selected angle therebetween.

17. A method of positioning a femoral cutting guide on a distal end of a femur that establishes at least a first reference plane to perform a distal femoral planar cut, the method comprising:

passing a mounting rod into a keyed bushing coupled to an offset opening through first and second opposing surfaces of an index member;

inserting the mounting rod into an intramedullary canal of the femur;

inserting first and second elongated posts of a bridge member into corresponding first and second apertures in a peripheral wall of the index member, the first and second elongated posts having different cross-sections;

placing a cutting guide member over a medial anterior corner of the distal femur, the cutting guide member having first and second parallel and arcuate channels that establish the first reference plane and a second reference plane;

inserting a wall of a bridge channel of the bridge member into one of the first and second channels of the cutting guide member;

engaging the first surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a right femur, and engaging the second surface of the index member to the distal end of the femur when the femur is a left femur; and providing sliding resistance between the bridge member and the cutting guide member by a mounting mechanism; wherein the sliding resistance is provided by magnets.