ROBUST IMPACTOR

1 . An apparatus for urging a prosthetic femoral component into a desired position at a target location, comprising:

a rigid arm member having a first end region that includes a locating member;

a wedge element that can be driven, with an associated shaft member, along a drive axis; and

a rotatable handle element that is rotatable to turn a threaded region of the shaft member in a mating threaded region carried by the rigid arm member; whereby

the rotatable handle element is rotatable to thereby selectively drive the wedge member in a first drive direction or an opposite drive direction along the drive axis.

2 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the drive axis is associated with a longitudinal axis that is parallel and adjacent to a first arm axis associated with a first end region of the rigid arm member.

3 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein selective rotation of the rotatable handle element urges the wedge element towards an end of the first end region to thereby locate a narrowed portion of the wedge element between the first end region of the arm member and a neck region of the femoral component.

4 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the narrowed portion of the wedge element is provided by two angled walls which provide an angled opening of the wedge element.

5 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the narrowed portion of the wedge element can receive a variety of stems.

6 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the rigid arm member is bent at a bent region intermediate the first end region and a remaining end region.

7 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the first end region has a respective first arm axis that is offset from a corresponding further arm axis of the remaining end region by about around 15° to 40°.

8 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the first arm axis and the further arm axis are oriented at an angle of around 135° or 145°.

9 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the mating threaded region comprises a threaded through bore in a protuberance of the arm member in the first end region.

10 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wedge element comprises a first sliding surface that faces a respective sliding surface provided by an outer surface of the first end region, and an abutment surface.

11 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the abutment surface comprises a recessed channel region provided in an outer surface of the wedge element.

12 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the recessed channel comprises a widened and a narrowed region, and the sliding surface of the wedge element comprises a protruding element, of a width that is narrower than the widened region and is wider than the narrowed region.

13 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein a primary axis associated with the first sliding surface is angled with respect to a primary axis associated with the channel region by about around 10° to 40°.

14 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a remaining end region comprises at least one elongate through hole.

15 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a remaining end region comprises at least one predominantly circular through hole for receiving an elongate bolt.

16 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a remaining end region comprises an end that includes a flared-out impact receiving head.

17 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the flared-out impact receiving head is oriented at an angle of between 5° and 20° with respect to a vertical axis.

18 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a remaining end region comprises a plurality of discrete rigid spaced apart elongate members that extend in a substantially parallel relationship.

19 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 18 , wherein a radially outermost surface of each elongate member includes wrinkles or corrugations.

20 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the locating member is removable and/or replaceable.

21 . A method of urging a prosthetic femoral component into a desired position at a target location, comprising the steps of:

locating a rigid arm member with respect to a femoral component via a locating member at a first end region of the arm member;

turning a handle at a first end of a shaft member supported by the arm member thereby driving the shaft member and a wedge element carried at a remaining end of the shaft member, along a respective drive axis;

wherein:

as the shaft member is driven in a first drive direction, driving a narrowed portion of the wedge element between a region of the rigid arm member and a femoral neck portion of the femoral component thereby securing the arm member with respect to the femoral component; and

subsequently urging the prosthetic femoral head component into a desired position with respect to a femur.

22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising locating a shaft of a prosthetic femoral component in a channel in a femur.

23 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising urging the prosthetic femoral component by hand or via a surgical mallet member by hitting a remaining end of the rigid arm member.

24 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising subsequent to the prosthetic femoral component being duly located at a desired position, turning the handle member to drive the wedge member and shaft member away from the femoral neck; and

urging the arm member away from the femoral component.

25 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising hitting the remaining end by impacting a flared-out end of the arm member with a surgical mallet.

26 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising locating the rigid arm member at a presentation position via manipulation of a plurality of elongate handle members at an end of the rigid arm member distal to the locating member.

27 . Apparatus for implanting a prosthetic stem into a terminal end region of bone comprising:

an elongate body region; a stem securement region connected to the elongate body region comprising a slidable wedge element, for imparting a first securing force on the stem, and a screw element for selecting the position of said wedge element wholly or partly along the elongate body region; and

a stem coupling region comprising a protrusion element for coupling with the stem, wherein the protrusion element imparts a further securing force in response to the first securing force, thereby securing the stem to the apparatus.