Small Bone Fixation System Addresses Foot and Ankle Injuries

A novel plating system offers a comprehensive set of implants that match the size and anatomy of small bones within the foot and ankle.

The Baby Gorilla Mini Plating System provides 65 unique plating options from 13 plating families, which include straight plates, L and oblique-L plates, Y and double-Y plates, navicular plates, cuboid plates, mesh plates, Jones fracture compression and hook plates, 5th metatarsal avulsion fracture hook plates, and Akin osteotomy plates. The plates can accept both locking and non-locking variable angle screws, with diameters of 2.0 mm or 2.5mm, and in lengths ranging from 8 to 50mm. The locking screws allow up to 15° off-axis locking placement.

Some of the plates also feature compression slots and are compatible with non-locking screws. The system also includes a robust assortment of instrumentation including curettes, reduction clamps, osteotomes, plate-bending tools, and compression and distraction devices engineered specifically for use in the foot and ankle for small bone fractures and reconstruction procedures. The Baby Gorilla Mini Plating System is a product of Paragon 28, and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Committed to creating tailored solutions to improve surgical outcomes, Paragon 28 has launched innovative products and instrumentation that help to streamline procedures, allow surgeons flexibility in technique and approach, and facilitate reproducible results benefitting both the surgeon and patient,” said the company in a press statement. “Paragon 28 continues to honor a tradition of comprehensive and innovative solutions with the launch and release of the Baby Gorilla Mini Plating System.”

Bone plating is a method of fracture fixation in which one or more metal plates are applied across the fracture and anchored, usually by screws, into the fragments; the broken bones must first be surgically reset into their proper position. The method does have some drawbacks; after initially placing the plate on the break or fracture the bones are compressed together and held under some slight pressure, which helps to speed up the healing process of the bone. Unfortunately, the tension provided by the steel plate is lost after several days and the break or fracture is no longer under compression, slowing the healing process.