Device for temporarily splinting toes

1. A device for temporarily splinting toes, comprising:

a tube sized and shaped to be inserted into a bone of a human toe, the tube composed of a bio-absorbable material having a level of rigidity sufficient to hold portions of the toe in a desired position relative to one another, the tube including an interior channel sized and shaped to receive a guide wire and a bend in a single plane such that, when the tube is inserted into the toe, the bend is contoured to permit contact between the ball of the toe and a floor on which the toe is positioned, an outer diameter of the tube being substantially constant along the bend a guide wire sized and shaped to be slidably received within the interior channel of the tube.

2. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the tube is tapered at least at one end.

3. A device according to claim 2 , wherein the tapered end ends in a point.

4. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the bend is an S-shaped bend.

5. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the guide wire is linear.

6. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the bio-absorbable material has an elongation factor of ε=(ΔLx100/L)<10%, where ΔL is the change in length, and L is the length.

7. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the bio-absorbable material is at least one of an L-polylactide or a caprolactone.

8. A device according to claim 1 , wherein an internal diameter d of the tube is 1.15 mm.

9. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the tube has a wall thickness of 0.25 mm.

10. A device according to claim 1 , where the tube has a length between 4.5 cm and 5.0 cm.

11. A device according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the tube has an external thread.

12. A device according to claim 1 , wherein the guide wire has a point at least at one of its ends.

13. The device according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the tube is smooth.