Patent ID: 8100910

Claim:
An internal fixation device for treating or repairing a distal radius fracture of a patient, the distal radius fracture having a fracture line forming distal and proximal fracture fragments, said device comprising: an elongated fixation rod having distal and proximal portions, said distal portion including a head with a laterally extending distal aperture therein, wherein said elongated fixation rod has a curvilinear profile, from an anterior-posterior view, comprising a substantially linear proximal portion configured to axially extend within a medullary canal of the radius, wherein the substantially linear proximal portion defines an axial axis, the axial axis coincident with a centerline of the proximal portion of the rod, wherein the distal aperture is configured to receive a distal fixation member for attachment of said rod to the distal fracture fragment, wherein the rod is configured and sized to reside totally within the radius with the head entirely within a radial styloid region to support and buttress an articular surface of the distal radius and allow wrist mobility while stabilizing the distal radius fracture, and wherein from the anterior-posterior view, the rod curves radially away from the axial axis, distally from the linear portion, substantially following the contour of the distal radius, to position the head at the radial styloid region, and wherein the head has a surface that inclines in an ulnar direction toward the axial axis.