Patent ID: 8641744

Claim:
A bone plating system for improving the stability of a bone fracture in a long bone, the bone plating system comprising: (a) a bone plate including: a lower surface, which when in an operative configuration, faces a bone to which the bone plate is to be attached; an upper surface opposite the lower surface; a shaft portion having a width and a central longitudinal axis, the shaft portion configured and dimensioned to extend along at least a portion of a diaphysis of a bone to which the bone plate is configured to be attached, and the lower surface of the shaft portion having a plurality of arched cut-outs extending transverse to the longitudinal axis, the shaft portion having a plurality of bone screw holes having a threaded, conical taper and a plurality of bone screw holes that are unthreaded; and a head portion configured and dimensioned to extend along at least a portion of a metaphysis of the bone to which the bone plate is configured to be attached, wherein the head portion flares outward from the shaft portion so as to have a width that is greater than the width of the shaft portion, the head portion curves upward from the shaft portion and having at least three bone screw holes, and all of the bone screw holes of the head portion have a threaded, conical taper extending continuously from the upper surface to the lower surface; (b) a plurality of locking bone screws having a threaded shaft for engaging bone and a threaded, conically-tapered head configured to threadedly mate with the threaded, conical taper of the bone screw holes of the head portion; and (c) a plurality of non-locking bone screws having a threaded shaft for engaging bone and an unthreaded, conically-tapered head.