Patent ID: 7670357

Claim:
A surgical system, comprising: a pre-bent surgical wire having a closed end and two free ends; a surgical instrument for manipulating said pre-bent wire, the instrument including: two jaws that are movable relative to one another for generating a gripping force; and a wire-receiving device provided in at least one of said jaws, the wire-receiving device positioning the closed end of the pre-bent wire in a plane which is substantially parallel to a direction of the gripping force, wherein the wire-receiving device is constructed as a groove or slot, said groove or slot being provided at a free end of the respective jaw and being open in the direction of the free end of the respective jaw, said groove or slot being defined by two side walls which stabilize the location of the closed end of the pre-bent wire, each side wall extending in the plane which is substantially parallel to the direction of the gripping force; wherein both jaws are selectively operable to substantially envelop the closed end of the pre-bent wire; a bone plate with at least two wire-receiving apertures which are spaced apart from one another to receive the two free ends of the pre-bent wire.