Patent ID: 7922765

Claim:
A method comprising identifying a bone site comprising a first bone segment, a second bone segment, and a non-bony region comprising an interruption between the first and second bone segments, providing a rectangular bone fixation/fusion device comprising first and second rectangular surfaces and edge surfaces extending from the rectangular surfaces to form a rectangular wafer, and an elongated fixating ridge projecting from at least one of the rectangular surfaces, forming a first cavity in the first bone segment that extends along one side of the interruption to receive an edge surface of the rectangular wafer, forming a second cavity in the second bone segment that extends along another side of the interruption to receive another edge surface of the rectangular wafer, the second cavity generally facing the first cavity across the interruption, positioning the rectangular wafer across the interruption between the first and second bone segments by inserting edge surfaces of the rectangular wafer into the first cavity and the second cavity, and stabilizing the bone site by gripping the elongated fixation ridge into bone; wherein at least one of the edge surfaces includes a guide bore, and wherein the positioning includes placing a guide pin in one of the first and second cavities, and passing the guide bore over the guide pin to insert the at least one edge surface into the cavity.