An assembly for guiding resection of a femur and tibia of a knee joint in preparationfor installing a femoral and tibial knee components. For example, the assemblycan include tibial and femoral IM rods to which are connected through a torquebolt that allows controlled adjustment of the distraction of the tibia and femurduring cut positioning in a range of flexion angles. Also, the assembly is usablewith relatively small, noninvasive approaches to the knee joint by way of relativelynarrow, low profile components that attach to tibial and femoral IM rods. Further,the assembly includes several quick-release components to allow fast assemblyand disassembly in a surgical setting. Each of these aspects, along with the abilityof the assembly to accurately guide initial reference cuts to the tibia and femur,promotes an improved outcome for the patient.
