Surgical appliance for the fixation of fractured bones

Claim 1

A surgical appliance for the fixation of fractured bones, comprising a first anchoring member having a threaded shaft adapted to be embedded into one segment of a fractured bone, said first anchoring member having a substantially cylindrical head portion extending from said threaded shaft and including a channel therethrough for receiving a bolt; a second anchoring member having a threaded shaft adapted to be embedded into another segment of said fractured bone, said second anchoring member having a substantially cylindrical head portion extending from said second-mentioned threaded shaft and including a channel therethrough for receiving said bolt, one of said channels being threaded, each of said substantially cylindrical head portions further including a receptacle therein for receiving an insertion tool which, when rotated, drives the threaded shaft of the respective anchoring member into said respective segment of said fractured bone; and a bolt having a shaft and a head, at least a portion of said shaft being provided with screw threads which mate with the threads of said one channel, the shaft of said bolt being adapted to pass through the channel of said first anchoring member and to be threadedly received in the channel of said second anchoring member such that said shaft, when received by both channels of the cylindrical head portions of said anchoring members, extends substantially perpendicular to the threaded shafts of each of said anchoring members, so as to exert a compressional force on said one and other segments of said fractured bone when said bolt is tightened.