| abstract |
In one embodiment of the invention, an anterior fixation system includes a plate defining a plurality of screw holes, a number of screws and a number of locking assemblies for fixing the screws to the plate. The system includes two bone screws, a fixed angle screw and a variable angle screw. Either the fixed or variable angled screws may be implanted with a single plate, and either type of screw may be placed into any of the screw holes along the plate. An intermediate portion of the fixed angle screw is configured to reside within the cylindrical portion of any of the holes when the screw is fixed to the plate such that it is prevented from rotating or pivoting within the hole and is non-threaded. The several screw holes may be in various patterns. The invention further contemplates a locking assembly to lock one or more bone screws within a respective screw hole. In one embodiment, the locking assembly includes a washer overlapping one or more screw holes and a locking screw. In another embodiment, a locking washer includes cut-outs corresponding to the screw recesses, along with a notch and key configuration. |