A bone plate system for use with fasteners for fixation of a fractured bone, including a bone plate having an elongate shaft for placement against the bone. The bone plate further has at least one threaded hole for receiving at least one fastener, with each hole having a central axis. The plate further has a bone contacting first surface, an opposite second surface, a thickness extending in a dimension between said first and second surfaces; and at least one tubular drill guide cap. The drill guide cap is engageable with a first hole of at least one threaded hole, the cap having a threaded exterior, an internal bore, a proximal end, and a distal end.

Implementations of devices for use in cervical spinal operations. Implementations may include a template including a central hole therethrough and two or more screw holes therethrough. The central hole may be configured to be inserted over a handle of a trial. The template may be configured to place a first of the two or more screw holes over a rostral vertebra and to place a second of the two or more screw holes over a caudal vertebra. Implementations may also include a template including a central hole therethrough and two or more screw holes therethrough. The central hole may be configured to couple over an inserter. The template may be configured to place a first of the two or more screw holes over a rostral vertebra and to place a second of the two or more screw holes over a caudal vertebra.

A guide for guiding drill bits to form holes in a bone in a predetermined pattern for receiving fasteners to secure an implant to the bone is provided. The guide includes a guide body having a bone interface side opposite an operative side, the bone interface side having a bone contacting surface engageable with a surface of the bone. The guide also includes a plurality of drill guides extending from the operative side of the guide body for guiding corresponding drill bits, wherein the bone contacting surface of the guide body is configured to substantially conform to surface contours of the bone at a predetermined position on the bone. A method of designing the guide is also provided.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for excising a joint between first and second bones to define a resected joint, approximating the first and second bones to reduce the resected joint, and fixing the first and second bones relative to each other. The excising step can be performed using a cut guide that is movable from a first orientation to cut the first bone to a second orientation to cut the second bone. A compressor block can be driven over temporary fixation members that extends into the first and second bones to reduce the resected joint. A staple, along or in combination with other fixation elements, can then permanently fix the first bone to the second bone.

A device configured to provide a faster and more accurate measurement of depths of holes for placement of bone screws and fastener for bone implant fixation procedures. The device includes a combination of a bone probe for physical examination of a hole drilled in a bone and a depth gauge member for determining a depth of the hole and providing digital measurement of the depth.

A femur fixation system includes an intramedullary nail that includes a first bending stiffness and a bone plate that includes a second bending stiffness and a second torsional stiffness. In the femur fixation system either at least one of the second torsional stiffness compensates for the first torsional stiffness and the first torsional stiffness is insufficient to enable the intramedullary nail to stabilize the bone fracture independently of the bone plate or the first bending stiffness compensates for the second bending stiffness and the second bending stiffness is insufficient to enable the bone plate to stabilize the bone fracture independently of the intramedullary nail.

Apparatus and methods are described for use in securing a first bone relative to a second bone using a pair of surgical staples or, alternatively, a surgical staple and a bone screw. When a pair of staples are used, one of the legs of one of the staples may pass between the legs of the another of the staples. When a staple and a bone screw are used, the bone screw may pass between the legs of the staple. A guide tool can be used during the drilling of the holes for the legs of the staples or the legs of the staple and a bone screw. The guide tool provides guides for drilling guide holes for the staples or for the screw and staple. The guides can be fixed relative to each other during drilling of the guide holes.

Tools and methods for expanding a precursor hole in a host material to receive a fixture. The precursor hole is enlarged by a rotary tool having helical flutes and interposed lands. The flutes have a negative rake angle. The lands each have a working edge that cuts the host material when the tool is rotated in a cutting direction, and that condenses the host material when the tool is rotated in a densifying direction. The body of the rotary tool has a stopper section that plugs the hole when a certain depth is reached. When the tool is used with a copious wash of irrigating fluid at or below the necessary depth, hydraulic pressure builds inside the precursor hole. The hydraulic pressure can be advantageously exploited in cutting mode to autograft a slurry of host material particles into the sidewalls of the hole and create an incipient densifying crust.

A driving pin can be used for installing a bone plate on a bone. In some examples, the driving pin has a driving pin body extending from a proximal end to a distal end. The driving pin body may define at least three regions of different cross-sectional thickness, including a bone penetrating region adjacent the distal end, a driving region adjacent the proximal end, and a bone plate orienting region between the bone penetrating region and the driving region. In general, the bone penetrating region has a smaller cross-sectional thickness than the bone plate orienting region and the bone plate orienting region has a smaller cross-sectional thickness than the driving region. The bone plate orienting region may be sized to conform to the size of a fixation hole extending through bone plate.

A surgical drill alignment guide is disclosed that can provide an accurate trajectory for placement of a bone screw along a longitudinal axis of a bone.