Importance

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Abstract

Bone cement is removed from a bone cavity, such as the intramedullary canal, during a prosthetic revision. The bond cement is pre-molded by a thermal chisel which includes a shaft for extending into the bone cavity, a plasticizer chisel on a working end of the shaft, and a heat element carried by the shaft for heating the chisel to a temperature within a range of temperatures sufficient to plasticize the bone cement. This deforms and weakens the bone cement upon direct non-impact type contact between the heated tip of the chisel and the cement. The cement is removed by pre-molding it with the heated working end of the thermal chisel, preferably by molding a distally located circumferential furrow in the bone cement and then molding circumferentially spaced apart longitudinal furrows from the circumferential groove to the proximal end of the bone cement. Upon rehardening of the bone cement, these thermally molded furrows form weakened areas within the bone cement so that the regions of bone cement between the weakened areas can be removed by an impact type chisel. Preferably, each section of bone cement is removed intact by impact force applied to a molded step groove in a proximal end surface of the section. Removal of the bone cement in sections by these procedures avoids harmful heat transfer to the bone wall.

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First Claim