Patent ID: 8403967

Claim:
A method of stabilizing a fracture of a distal radius bone, the distal radius bone having subchondral bone that defines an articular surface with a concave curvature, the method comprising: a) with a rigid volar plate having a proximal body portion and a distal head portion, each of said body portion and said head portion provided with a bone contacting first surface and an opposite second surface, said head portion angled upward with respect to a plane containing said body portion when said bone contacting first surface of said body portion is facing downward, said head portion including at least three first holes arranged in a generally medial to lateral direction, each of said first holes defining a respective fixed central axis that is at a defined angle relative to a line normal to the first surface of said head portion, each said defined angle being at a unique number of degrees from the other of said first holes relative to said line normal, wherein a second of said first holes is angled at 1-7 degrees relative to a first of said first holes and said body portion including a plurality of second holes, positioning the bone contacting first surface of said body portion against the volar side of the radius bone; b) inserting at least one bone screw with a threaded shaft through the second holes and into the radius bone to secure the volar plate against the volar side of the radius bone; c) reducing the fracture; d) after reducing the fracture, inserting a first plurality of fracture stabilizing elements through said first holes in said head portion and into the volar side of the radius bone, each fracture stabilizing element having a head at which the fracture stabilizing element can be rigidly coupled to the plate and a shaft which extends into the radius bone, wherein when said head is rigidly coupled to said plate said shaft of each fracture stabilizing element can extend solely along the fixed central axis; and e) rigidly coupling said head of each of said first plurality of fracture stabilizing elements directly to said head portion of said plate such that said shafts of each of said first plurality of fracture stabilizing elements extend immediately below the subchondral bone of the radius bone and are in a fixed axial relationship relative to said head portion of said plate in which said shafts of said first plurality of fracture stabilizing elements extend divergently relative to each other from said bone contacting first surface of said plate in both a medial-lateral direction and a proximal-distal direction and together form a stabilizing construct for the subchondral bone.