SURGICAL DRILL GUIDE HAVING KEYWAY FOR AXIAL ALIGNMENT OF FASTENER USED FOR AN ORTHOPEDIC PLATE

摘要

A surgical drill guide for positioning, aligning, and of holes to be drilled in bone tissue has retaining means that holds the position and alignment of the drill guide body in a releasable manner with respect to a fastener hole in an orthopedic implant. The retaining means is a key guide that mates with a key way or key ways in or around a threaded locking hole of an orthopedic plate for alignment of a pilot hole and method of using the guide. The key guide has 2 to 8 projections that extend in the direction of the axis of the hole, such as hemi-cylindrical projections, and the plate has a corresponding female key way that receives the retaining means.