Locking bone plate with bushing anti-rotation feature

1 . A locking plate for engagement with a bone, the apparatus comprising:

a plate including a body portion and an at least one through-hole;

an expandable bushing comprising an exterior surface comprising at least one recess and a passageway comprising a threaded interior surface, the expandable bushing comprising a first configuration that permits poly-axial rotation of the bushing within the through-hole;

an elongated anchoring member comprising a distal portion and a proximal portion comprising a head portion with threads complementary to the threads on the interior surface of the expandable bushing, the proximal portion expanding the bushing to form a friction lock between the bushing and the plate in a selected polyaxial position in a second configuration; and

at least one discrete blocking member fixedly engaged with the body portion of the plate and extending into the through-hole to engage with the recess on the expandable bushing, the blocking member inhibiting rotation of the expandable bushing relative to the through-hole.

2 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein the recess comprises a slot extending completely through a wall of the expandable bushing.

3 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein radial expansion of the expandable bushing from the first configuration to the second configuration comprises one of plastic or elastic deformation of the expandable bushing.

4 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein the exterior surface of the expandable bushing and walls of the through-hole are substantially spherical in a complementary manner, except where the blocking member engages with the recess.

5 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein the distal portion of the anchoring member comprises threads adapted to engage with the bone.

6 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein one or more of the threads on the head portion and the threads on the interior surface of the bushing comprise tapered threads.

7 . The locking plate of claim 1 comprising a tapered surface on the proximal portion of the head portion, the tapered surface expanding the expandable bushing to the second configuration.

8 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein the blocking member comprises a discrete component fixedly engaged with a recess in the body portion of the plate.

9 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein the blocking member comprises a cylinder.

10 . The locking plate of claim 1 wherein a single blocking member extends into a plurality of through-holes to simultaneously engage with the recesses of a plurality of expandable bushings.

11 . The locking plate of claim 1 comprises a recess in the body portion of the plate sized to receive the blocking member, the recess comprising a central axis that is parallel to, or at an angle with respect to, a central axis of the through-hole.

12 . A method of engaging a locking plate with a bone, the method comprising the steps of:

positioning the locking plate against a bone;

locating an expandable bushing in at least one through-hole in a body portion of the locking plate;

inserting an elongated anchoring member through a passageway in the expandable bushing;

poly-axially rotating the bushing within the through-hole and inserting the anchoring member into the bone;

engaging at least one blocking member with the body portion of the plate so that the blocking member extends into the through-hole to engage with a recess on the expandable bushing and blocks rotation of the expandable bushing relative to the through-hole; and

engaging threads on a head portion of the anchoring member with a threaded interior surface of the passageway on the bushing to expand the bushing from a first configuration that permits poly-axial rotation of the bushing within the through-hole to a second configuration that comprises a friction lock between the bushing and the plate.

13 . The method of claim 12 comprising one of plastically or elastically deforming the expandable bushing from the first configuration to the second configuration.

14 . The method of claim 12 comprising engaging threads on a distal portion of the anchoring member with the bone.

15 . The method of claim 12 wherein tapered threads on one or more of the head portion and the threads on the interior surface of the bushing radially expand the bushing from the first configuration to the second configuration.

16 . The method of claim 12 wherein a tapered surface on a proximal portion of the head portion radially expands the bushing from the first configuration to the second configuration.

17 . The method of claim 12 wherein the blocking member comprises a discrete component fixedly engaged with a recess in the body portion of the plate.

18 . The method of claim 12 comprising inserting a cylindrical blocking member into a cylindrical hole on the body portion of the bone plate.

19 . The method of claim 12 comprising positioning a single blocking member to extend into a plurality of through-holes to simultaneously engage with the recesses of a plurality of expandable bushings.

20 . The method of claim 12 comprises inserting the blocking member into a recess in the body portion of the plate, the recess comprising a central axis that is parallel to, or at an angle with respect to, a central axis of the through-hole.