Patent ID: 7763021

Claim:
An intramedullary nail assembly for use in a medullary canal, comprising: a nail component configured to fit into the medullary canal, the nail component having a hollow bore and comprising a wall having a first wall opening and a second wall opening, the first wall opening and the second wall opening being spaced apart axially by a first distance; a sleeve comprising a sleeve wall having at least a first sleeve opening and a deformable portion, and wherein the nail component has a hollow bore and at least the deformable portion of the sleeve is configured to be disposed within the hollow bore in a sliding arrangement, the deformable portion having a first, undeformed length that is longer than the first distance and is configured to be deformed by a defined force to a second length that is approximately equal to the first distance; a first fixation pin sized and configured to be inserted transversely through the first wall opening and the first sleeve opening when the first wall opening and the first sleeve opening are approximately aligned; a second fixation pin sized and configured to be inserted transversely through the second wall opening, the sleeve and nail component being configured such that, when the first fixation pin is inserted through the first wall opening and the first sleeve opening, and the second fixation pin is inserted through the second wall opening, the deformable portion of the sleeve is deformed to the second length.