Patent ID: 7588595

Claim:
A cross pin for securing a graft within a bone, the cross pin comprising: an elongated cannulated body having an interior surface bounding a passageway extending completely through the body between a proximal end face at a proximal end of the cannulated body and an opposing distal end face at a distal end of the cannulated body, the distal end of the cannulated body having a tapered frustoconical configuration, the passageway having a central longitudinal axis extending therethrough, the proximal end face and the distal end face both being substantially planar and substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis, the body completely encircling the passageway so as to form a continuous loop around the passageway at the proximal end face and at the distal end face, the cannulated body being comprised of a non-metallic material; and a plurality of ribs radially outwardly projecting from the body at the proximal end thereof, the ribs being radially spaced apart from each other and being longitudinally spaced apart from the proximal end face, each of the plurality of ribs having a distal face that slopes toward the distal end of the cannulated body, wherein the cannulated body has a central portion that extends between the plurality of ribs and the tapered frustoconical distal end, the central portion of the cannulated body comprising at least half of the entire length of the cannulated body extending between the proximal end face and the distal end face, the exterior surface of the central portion of the cannulated body having a uniform cylindrical configuration that is free of any projections radially outwardly projecting from the exterior surface, wherein the cross pin has a first transverse cross sectional area disposed within an imaginary first plane that is normal to the central longitudinal axis and that passes through at least one of the plurality of ribs, the first transverse cross sectional area being larger than every transverse cross sectional area of the cross pin disposed within an imaginary second plane that is normal to the central longitudinal axis and that is positioned at any location on the cross pin between the proximal end face and the plurality of ribs.