Patent ID: 8262656

Claim:
An external fixation device for the setting and corrective treatment of a bone fracture, comprising: a splint member having a first and a second axially slidable and mutually fastenable base portions for adjusting the length of said splint member, said base portions each being rectangular in transverse cross-section so as to inhibit relative rotational displacement between said base portions while enabling axial adjustment therebetween, wherein said first and second base portions of said splint member are each elongate bars which are axially slidably interconnected so as to extend along a common axis; and fastening structure being provided on one of said base portions for locking said other base portion thereto in predetermined axially adjusted positions, said splint member further having axially extending grooves and cooperating lips formed extending along least a portion of the lengths of each of said base portions to facilitate adjustment of the axial length of said splint member and resulting spacing between the sets of pins between said base portions; and a plurality of bone pins, wherein said bone pins pass through holes in each base portion of the splint member, wherein each of said base portions of said splint member comprises mountings for said bone pins to traverse the site of the bone fracture in a multi-angle and multi-planar configuration so as to secure fractured bone segments against rotation and axial movement, and further wherein positioning spacers are detachably mounted on the outer ends of said base portions to facilitate the radial spacing of said device relative to the forearm of a patient during the deployment of the splint member for fixation of the fracture site, wherein said positioning spacers are arranged so as to be mounted on grooves formed in lower side edges of each said based portion, and are axially slidably detachable upon completion of the deployment of said splint member proximate said fracture site, and wherein said splint member comprises a fiber reinforced polymeric material.