FIXATION OF BONES AFTER FRACTURE

摘要

A bone fixation system comprises a plate member (4) having an upper face and a contact face, and is formed with at least one hole (10). The or each hole has one end length of a first cross-section extending from the upper face with the other end length tapering towards the contact face (11) to a cross-section less than the first cross- section. The system includes a bone screw (22) having a distal end and an enlarged proximal end (24) of cross-section complementing that of the other end length of the hole, and a locking element (26) to be received and locked in the one end length of the hole. The locking element can thus clamp the proximal end of the bone screw (22) against the other end length of the hole with the distal end projecting therefrom to secure the plate member to a bone part. The enlarged proximal end (24) of the bone screw can extend beyond the contact face (11) of the plate member when clamped against the other end length of the hole by the locking element. In this way the enlarged end prevents the contact face of the plate from actually engaging the bone surface (25).