Patent ID: 6869000

Claim:
A bone plate cutting assembly for shearing by transverse forces a bone plate having a non-circular cross-section and a longitudinal axis, comprising: a first shearing element comprising a first handle for manipulation of the first shearing element; and a first head attached to the first handle and having a front face, a substantially flat back face, and an outer surface, the first head having a first slot through the front and back faces and extending from the outer surface towards an interior of the first head, the first slot extending across substantially one-half the back face and tapering from the outer surface toward the interior of the first head; and a second shearing element comprising a second handle for manipulation of the second shearing element; and a second head attached to the second handle and having a front face, a substantially flat back face, and an outer surface, the second head having a second slot through the front and back faces and extending from the outer surface towards an interior of the second head; wherein the first and second slots each define a set of opposing surfaces and at least one opposing surface of each set of opposing surfaces intersects the back face of the respective shearing element to form a bevelled cutting edge and wherein rotation of the first and second heads counter to one another about an axis of rotation with the heads directly touching each other at the cutting edges applies a torsional shearing force on the bone plate and the axis of rotation is selectively located within the first slot.