INTRAMEDULLARY SUPPORT WITH POROUS METAL SPLINES

摘要

An intramedullary support for arthrodesis of a human midfoot, especially to correct Charcot deformity, is configured as an elongated beam or shaft having porous metal on an outer surface for bone ingrowth. For the medial column, the intramedullary support is emplaced in a K-wire guided bore extending through the metatarsal, cuneiform, and navicular bones into the talus. The beam or shaft can be polygonal in cross section and the porous metal can included particulate or trabecular metal arranged in discrete areas or along splines, such as titanium with a porosity comparable to that of cancellous bone. Splines or encircling lengths of porous metal can be flush or protruding from the surface of the beam or shaft, longitudinal along a cylindrical the beam, or oblique or wrapped helically, or on a beam of polygonal cross section. Bone ingrowth and ossification supports the medial column in alignment along the beam.