Patent ID: 7025769

Claim:
A surgical fixation system, comprising: a plate having at least one fastener-receiving aperture and at least one retainer-receiving aperture, said fastener-receiving aperture extending between an upper surface and a lower surface of said plate, and said retainer-receiving aperture having a periphery defined by a plurality of tab members extending from said upper surface wherein at least a portion of said tab members are deformable from a first position to a second position, said first position permitting the introduction of said retainer into said retainer-receiving aperture, and said second position preventing the removal of said retainer from said retainer-receiving aperture; at least one fastener having an anchor region and a head region; said anchor region dimensioned to be passed through said fastener-receiving aperture for introduction into a surgical target site, and said head region dimensioned to be received at least partially within said fastener-receiving aperture; and at least one retainer dimensioned to be introduced into said retainer-receiving aperture to overlap at least a portion of said head region of said fastener and thereby prevent said fastener from backing out of said fastener-receiving aperture.