Patent ID: 7678139

Claim:
A bone stabilizer assembly, comprising: a fixation element adapted to engage a bone and having a head portion and shank portion; a coupling element having an internal bore sized to receive the shank portion of the fixation element and a seat adapted to support the head portion of the fixation element, the coupling element further adapted to receive a stabilizer rod wherein the coupling element includes a pair of opposed projections separated by a rod-receiving channel, and wherein inner surfaces of the opposed projections include inner threads; a bottom saddle movably mounted in the coupling element below the stabilizer rod when the stabilizer rod is in the coupling element, the bottom saddle being securable within the coupling element, such that when the bottom saddle is mounted in the coupling element, the bottom saddle and the coupling element are coupled together and the coupling of the coupling element and the bottom saddle permit limited upward and downward movement of the bottom saddle relative to the coupling element; a top saddle positioned above the stabilizer rod when the stabilizer rod is in the coupling element; and a compression nut engagable with the coupling element, the compression nut adapted to rotatingly move downward into the coupling element to translate a force to the top saddle to compress the stabilizer rod between the top saddle and the bottom saddle, wherein the top saddle is rotatingly attached to the compression nut such that the top saddle self aligns into a secure engagement with the stabilizer rod as the top saddle moves downward toward the stabilizer rod.