A cutting system for use in a surgical procedure to cut a selected bone comprises a surgical saw comprising a handpiece, a static, planar guide bar extending forward from the handpiece, a saw blade pivotally attached to a distal end section of the guide bar, a motor internal to the handpiece, a drive assembly integral with the handpiece, at least one drive rod attached with one end thereof to the saw blade, attached with the opposite end thereof to the drive assembly, and housed within the guide bar, wherein the drive assembly is adapted to transfer power developed by the motor to the at least one drive rod so that the drive rod engages in back-and-forth reciprocating motion, and wherein the at least one drive rod is adapted to transfer the reciprocating motion to the saw blade so that teeth of the saw blade move in a back-and-forth or side-to-side oscillating motion, and a cutting guide comprising a body defining at least one guide surface for positioning in a plane which intersects a selected bone, and a capture element mounted to said body so as to extend outwardly from said guide surface in cantilevered relation thereto, said capture element being dimensioned so as to slidably connect the saw guide bar to said cutting guide body so that the guide bar can move and pivot relative to said cutting guide body but is restrained within a desired cutting plane as determined by said guide surface.
