fig1 illustrates a joint 50 , such as a knee joint of the human body that extends between a femur 52 and a tibia 54 . diseased portions of the femur 52 and the tibia 54 have been removed and replaced with a prosthetic implant 56 that is positioned within the joint 50 . in the exemplary embodiment , the prosthetic implant 56 is a total joint implant , such as a total knee implant , although other prosthetic implants could also benefit from the various teachings of this disclosure . various orthopedic surgical instruments can be used to prepare the femur 52 and / or tibia 54 for the implantation of the prosthetic implant 56 . examples of orthopedic surgical instruments that can be used for this purpose are detailed below . fig2 through 5 illustrate an exemplary surgical cutting block 10 that can be used to prepare a bone b ( see fig4 ) to receive a prosthetic implant . in this exemplary embodiment , the surgical cutting block 10 is part of a total joint instrument set that can be used to prepare a patient &# 39 ; s femur for accepting a total knee implant . for example , the surgical cutting block 10 can be used to resection a patient &# 39 ; s femur by making anterior , posterior and chamfer cuts in the femur . various other guides and instruments may be required to prepare the bone for receiving , positioning and using the surgical cutting block 10 to make the anterior , posterior and chamfer cuts . it should be understood that the surgical cutting block 10 could also be used for additional purposes related to any bone , total joint implant and / or any other surgery . the surgical cutting block 10 includes a block body 12 having a length l that extends between a top surface 14 and a bottom surface 16 . a width w of the block body 12 extends between opposing sides 18 , 20 ( see fig3 ). a thickness t of the block body 12 extends between a first surface 22 ( that faces a bone b of the patient ) and an opposing second surface 24 that is positioned on an opposite side of the block body 12 from the first surface 22 , i . e ., towards a surgeon or other user of the surgical cutting block 10 ( see fig4 ). the first surface 22 may provide a flat surface for interfacing with the bone b . in one example , the first surface 22 obliquely extends between the top surface 14 and the bottom surface 16 and is non - parallel to the opposing second surface 24 . the size of the surgical cutting block 10 can vary depending on the size of the patient and could be provided in multiple sizes that correspond to different sizes of the prosthetic implant to be implanted . a sizing guide ( not shown ) can also be used to determine the appropriate size of the prosthetic implant prior to preparing the bone b for receiving the prosthetic implant . the surgical cutting block 10 can include a capture 26 disposed at or adjacent to the top surface 14 . in this exemplary embodiment , the capture 26 extends from the top surface 14 in a direction opposite from the bottom surface 16 and is integrally formed with the block body 12 . however , the capture 26 could also be a separate component from the block body 12 ( see fig8 ). in one embodiment , a forward face 29 of the capture 26 extends axially forward of the opposing second surface 24 in a direction that extends away from the first surface 22 . the capture 26 includes a slot 28 that can receive a cutting tool ( see fig7 a and 7b ), such as an oscillating saw or other suitable cutting tool , that can be inserted through the slot 28 to make an anterior cut in the bone b . in other words , the capture 26 and slot 28 provide a surgeon with a guide surface for performing a resection at a desired location of the bone b . in one embodiment , the slot 28 is a closed slot that extends across a width that is nearly the same as the width w of the block body 12 . however , the size , shape and configuration of the slot 28 can vary . the block body 12 of the surgical cutting block 10 can also include one or more posterior cutting guide slots 30 . in the exemplary embodiment of fig2 - 5 , the surgical cutting block 10 includes two posterior cutting guide slots 30 positioned adjacent to the bottom surface 16 of the block body 12 . the posterior cutting guide slots 30 generally extend between the first surface 22 and the opposing second surface 24 . in this embodiment , the posterior cutting guide slots 30 open into the opposing sides 18 , 20 of the block body 12 . the posterior cutting guide slots 30 receive a cutting tool and provide a guide surface for making posterior cuts with the cutting tool at a desired location of the bone b . one or more chamfer cutting guide slots 32 a , 32 b that provide guide surfaces for making chamfer cuts in the bone b can be disposed through the block body 12 of the surgical cutting block 10 . in one embodiment , the chamfer cutting guide slots 32 a , 32 b are disposed longitudinally between the slot 28 of the capture 26 and the posterior cutting guide slots 30 . the chamfer cutting guide slots 32 a , 32 b can be disposed at an angle through the block body 12 . that is , the chamfer cutting guide slots 32 a , 32 b extend obliquely between the first surface 22 and the opposing second surface such that a transverse cut can be made in the bone b . in one exemplary embodiment , the chamfer cutting guide slot 32 a can receive a cutting tool to make anterior chamfer cuts into the bone b , while the chamfer cutting guide slot 32 b can be utilized to make posterior chamfer cuts in the bone b . the surgical cutting block 10 can further include a handle 34 for maneuvering and positioning the surgical cutting block 10 relative to a patient &# 39 ; s bone b . one or more engagement features 36 can extend from the opposing sides 18 , 20 of the block body 12 and can be used to position and mount the surgical cutting block 10 relative to the bone b . the engagement features 36 may include openings 38 for receiving pins or other fasteners to removably mount the surgical cutting block 10 to the bone b so that the surgical cutting block 10 is securely affixed for resectioning the bone b . alternatively , the engagement features 36 could include bone spikes that are driven into the bone b to removably secure the surgical cutting block 10 to the bone b . referring to fig6 , the capture 26 of the surgical cutting block can include a second thickness t 2 that is less than a first thickness t 1 of the top surface 14 of the surgical cutting block 10 . it should be understood that this view is not necessarily to the scale it would be in practice . in one exemplary embodiment , the second thickness t 2 of the capture 26 is approximately half of the first thickness t 1 of the top surface 14 . in another example , the thickness t 2 is between 40 % and 60 % of the first thickness t 1 . however , the second thickness t 2 of the capture 26 could be any thickness that is less than the first thickness t 1 of the top surface 14 . fig7 a and 7b , with continued reference to fig1 - 6 , schematically illustrate a method of resectioning a bone using a surgical cutting block , such as the surgical cutting block 10 . the surgical cutting block 10 may first be positioned relative to a bone b . a cutting tool 40 can next be received through the slot 28 of the capture 26 of the surgical cutting block 10 . the cutting tool 40 could include an oscillating saw blade or any other suitable cutting tool . the cutting tool 40 can be inserted through the slot 28 and across the top surface 14 to create an anterior cut in the bone b , such as in a femur . the top surface 14 of the surgical cutting block 10 extends in a horizontal plane 42 . the cutting tool 40 can be angled in an anterior direction ad ( i . e ., away from the center of the bone b ) to position the cutting tool 40 at a desired angle relative to the bone b . the reduced second thickness t 2 of the capture 26 enables the cutting tool 40 to be angled at an angle a relative to the horizontal plane 42 to improve the positioning of the cutting tool 40 relative to the bone b . in one exemplary embodiment , the cutting tool 40 can be angled any angle in the anterior direction ad that is less than or equal to 4 ° from the horizontal plane 42 . once a desired angle has been established , the cutting tool 40 can be used to resection the bone b . the cutting tool 40 can additionally be used to make additional cuts in the bone b through the posterior cutting guide slots 30 and the chamfer cutting guide slots 32 a , 32 b of the surgical cutting block 10 . a surgeon has improved visualization of the cutting tool 40 at the interface between the bone b and the surgical cutting block 10 because the second thickness t 2 of the capture 26 is less than the first thickness t 1 of the top surface 14 . for example , the cutting tool 40 is exposed to view from above in a visualization area 99 of the surgical cutting block 10 that extends between a rear face 31 of the capture 26 and the first surface 22 of the block body 12 . the reduced second thickness t 2 of the capture 26 also enables slight angling of the cutting tool 40 for improved surgical use that avoids any partial notching to the bone b . also , as shown in fig7 b , the cutting tool 40 is substantially prevented from being angled in a posterior direction pd ( i . e ., toward the center of the bone b ) relative to the horizontal plane 42 of the top surface 14 . fig8 illustrates another exemplary surgical cutting block 110 . in this disclosure , like reference numerals indicate similar features , whereas reference numerals with an added prefix numeral of “ 1 ” indicates slightly modified features . the surgical cutting block 110 of this exemplary embodiment includes a block body 112 and a capture 126 that is a separate component from the block body 112 . in other words , the surgical cutting block 110 can embody a modular design that allows improved visualization of a cut location of a bone subsequent to positioning the surgical cutting block 110 relative to the bone and prior to attaching the capture 126 to the block body 112 . the capture 126 can be mounted to a top surface 114 of the block body 112 . the capture 126 can be mounted relative to the top surface 114 in any known manner to provide a guide surface for making an anterior cut in a bone . in one non - limiting embodiment , the capture 126 is magnetically connected to the top surface 114 of the surgical cutting block 110 . the capture 126 includes a slot 128 that can receive a cutting tool for performing cuts in a patient &# 39 ; s bone . the capture 126 extends across a second thickness t 2 that is less than a first thickness t 1 of the top surface 114 of the block body 112 . although the different non - limiting embodiments are illustrated as having specific components , the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations . it is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non - limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non - limiting embodiments . it should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings . it should also be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed and illustrated in these exemplary embodiments , other arrangements could also benefit from the teachings of this disclosure . the foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense . a worker of ordinary skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could come within the scope of this disclosure . for these reasons , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure .
a surgical cutting block according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes , among other things , a block body including a top surface having a first thickness that extends between a first surface and an opposing second surface of the block body and a capture disposed at the top surface . the capture includes a second thickness that is less than the first thickness of the top surface .