Orthopedic implant having non-circular cross section and method of use thereof

Abstract

Orthopedic implants capable of compressing adjacent bone segments into which they are inserted, effective for the fusion, management and repair of bone joints and bone fractures, and methods for their installation, are described. One embodiment of such implants includes an elongated shaft coated to encourage bony in-growth, having a non-round cross section, and a flange at one end, which is laterally inserted into a preformed insertion path formed in adjacent bone segments traversing a joint or fracture location, to the point where further insertion is blocked by the flange intersecting one of the bone segments. The other end of the shaft may have a portion of male thread protruding out of the insertion path in the second of the bone fragments and adapted to be mated to a fastener having female thread. When the fastener is tightened against the outside of the second bone segment, perhaps using a washer, the joint or fracture is compressed and stabilized resulting in an effective fusion of the joint or fracture when the bone secures itself in the insertion path to the shaft's bony in-growth surfaces on both sides of the joint or fracture line.