Patent ID: 8540777

Claim:
Apparatus for performing an open wedge, high tibial osteotomy, the apparatus comprising: a wedge-shaped implant for disposition in a wedge-shaped opening created in the tibia, wherein the wedge-shaped implant comprises at least one upwardly or downwardly angled bore hole, the bore hole has an internal surface with a screw head engaging detent adjacent a proximal end of the bore hole; a discrete fixation screw for extending through the bore hole and securing the wedge-shaped implant to the tibia comprising a fixation screw head and integral threaded shaft, the fixation screw head comprising an outer circumferential surface with at least one radially outwardly extending protrusion and at least one adjacent, radially inwardly extending recess; and a locking mechanism for releasably locking the discrete fixation screw to the wedge-shaped implant, the locking mechanism comprising the surface detent formed in the bore hole and the protrusion formed on the fixation screw head, such that the protrusion is capable of being seated in the detent if the fixation screw is advanced through the wedge-shaped implant.