Patent ID: 7763029

Claim:
A fixation system comprising: a bone screw; a plate having a first fixation hole for receiving the bone screw, a first drill guide key and a first retention mechanism having a top surface; and a drill guide including: a shaft having a front end, a rear end, and a bore therethrough; a housing having an alignment portion engageable with the first guide key for fixedly engaging the drill guide to the plate, the housing further including a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end being coupled to the shaft, a slot extending from the distal end of the housing so that the distal end of the housing is spaced from the distal end of the shaft by a gap, the slot terminating in an enlarged opening; wherein the first fixation hole has a diameter and the front end of the shaft has an outer diameter, the outer diameter of the front end being less than the diameter of the fixation hole, the front end of the shaft being insertable within the first fixation hole of the plate; and the bore is aligned with the first fixation hole without fixedly associating the front end with the plate, the front end of the shaft is positionable into contact with the top surface of the first retention mechanism and the bone screw is insertable through the bore of the drill guide and into engagement with the first retention mechanism.