Plating devices and systems are often used to secure adjacent bone segments. For example, plating devices and systems may be used to stabilize fractured or adjacent bone segments, such as relatively straight bones or adjacent vertebrae in the spine, and/or to hold the bone segments together to allow the bone segments to fuse together. Further, for instance, in spinal applications, a plating device may be used in combination with an implant positioned between the vertebrae to fuse to the vertebrae. The fixating and fusion of bone is also known as osteosynthesis.
In any case, the anatomy of each individual may vary, either naturally or as a result of a disease or defect, such as spondylolisthesis. As a result, the surfaces of adjacent bone segments may also vary, thereby creating a mismatch between a portion of a bottom surface of the plating device and the corresponding surface of the adjacent bone segment. For example, in spinal applications, the anterior surface of the L5 vertebra is displaced relative to the anterior surface of the S1 vertebra by a promontory angle, which is generally an acute angle. As such, screws used to affix the plate to the adjacent bone segment must span a gap caused by the mismatch, thereby creating instability between the plate and the bone segment.
Thus, based on the foregoing, improved plating devices and systems are desired.