Patent ID: 7438715

Claim:
A bone plate kit for implanting a bone plate across discontinuities in skeletal bone, said kit comprising a bone plate and a plurality of bone fasteners, said bone plate including an elongated span having a first end and a second end, said first end defining a first bracket and said second end defining a second bracket, said first and said second bracket each having at least two apertures adapted to receive said bone fasteners, said first bracket and said bracket each having an internal slot therein extending between said at least two apertures, at least two wedge shoes slidably disposed in each said internal slot, each said wedge shoe adjacent one of said apertures, a rotatable cam disposed within said internal slot and positioned between said two wedge shoes, said rotatable cam having a cam surface constructed and arranged to contact a first end of each said wedge shoe, said first end of each said wedge shoe is shaped to cooperate with a surface of said cam to lock said cam in a position whereby rotation of said cam with respect to said wedge shoe is substantially prevented, rotation of said cam causes substantially linear traversal of each said wedge shoe along said internal slot to frictionally engage a side surface of said bone fasteners received in said at least two adjacent apertures in an amount effective to prevent substantial hone fastener rotation.