In performing knee surgery, it has long been an object to minimize the extent to which soft tissue is cut or otherwise damaged or disrupted. In the case of total knee arthroplasty (TKA), significant resectioning must be performed at the proximal end of the tibia and the distal end of the femur. Heretofore, the procedures involved in resecting the tibia and the femur necessitated significant cutting of soft tissue including muscles, tendons and ligaments. The instrumentation of the present invention and the methods utilized in performing total knee arthroplasty using such instruments significantly reduces the amount of cutting and other disruption and damage to such soft tissue with the result of faster recovery time for the patients.
According, it is an object of the present invention to provide new instrumentation for performing total knee arthroplasty with minimal cutting or other disruption of soft tissue such as muscles, tendons and ligaments.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for performing total knee arthroplasty using such instrumentation.