Patent ID: 8518088

Claim:
A method of implanting a bone plate on a bone, comprising: a) providing a bone plate having a plurality of tubular drill guides pre-assembled to threaded locking holes of the bone plate; b) providing first and second tools, each tool having, i) a shaft extending between first and second ends of the shaft, wherein the first end has a first longitudinal axis and the second end is straight and defines a second longitudinal axis transverse to the first longitudinal axis, at least a portion of the shaft functioning as a handle for the tool, ii) the first end defining a socket parallel with the first longitudinal axis and including structure for straddling a portion of the bone plate to rotationally fix the first end relative to the bone plate, and iii) the second end defining a bore within the shaft, the bore having a bore axis obliquely oriented relative to the second longitudinal axis, c) positioning the bore of the second end of the first tool over a first tubular drill guide on the bone plate, and coupling either the first end or second end of the second tool to a second tubular drill guide; and d) manipulating the tools relative to each other to bend portions of the plate relative to each other.