An expanding
reamer for reaming or
cutting a
concave surface, for example, for reaming an
acetabulum in preparation for implanting a prosthetic component during a
hip arthroplasty. A rotating shaft cooperates with a
surgical drill or other power source at one end and rotates a
reamer head at the other end, and an actuation
system expands one or more blades on the
reamer head. The reamer head comprises one or more
cutting blades, which act as segments of a
cutting sphere, wherein the blades are expandable in directions non-parallel to the plane of the respective blades in order to enlarge the cutting sphere. Upon rotation of the reamer head, the blade(s) form a portion of an effective cutting sphere that is preferably greater-than-180-degrees; this allows greater flexibility in placement of the shaft of the reamer relative to the surface being reamed, for example, relative to the center of axis of the
acetabulum. In one embodiment, two parallel blades move out away from each other and away from the
rotational axis of the device, staying parallel to each other to become, in effect, more distanced, but still parallel, segments of a larger cutting sphere. In another embodiment, two blades start generally parallel to each other and to the
rotational axis of the device, but pivot out from each other in directions generally perpendicular to their respective blade planes, again becoming more distanced, but not parallel, segments of a larger cutting sphere.