Instrument and assembly for fitting a compression staple

A method of fitting a compression staple to compress two bone portions, the staple including two branches interconnected by a transverse bridge, the method comprising:

• drilling a bore in each of the two bone portions;
• holding a first zone of the bridge of the staple stationary relative to a distal receiver portion forming part of an instrument, the first zone being selected from the group consisting of two end portions of the bridge connected to the branches and a central portion of the bridge;
• inserting one of the branches of the staple in the bore in one of the bone portions and the other branch in the bore in the other bone portion until a front face of the bridge facing towards the branches comes into contact with the bone portions;
• while continuing to hold the first zone of the bridge of the staple stationary, deforming the staple from an initial implantation configuration towards a compression-applying configuration by applying forces to the second zone of the bridge of the staple producing a resultant force that opposes the forces applied to the first zone by the instrument;
• and
• disengaging the receiver portion from the staple.

An instrument comprising:

• a distal receiver portion configured to receive a compression staple that includes two branches interconnected by a transverse bridge;
• a holder configured to hold a first zone of the bridge of a staple stationary relative to the receiver portion while the branches of the staple project distally from the receiver portion, the first zone being either two end portions of the bridge that are connected to the branches or the central portion of the bridge;
• and
• a deformation mechanism configured to deform a staple from an initial configuration for implanting in a bone to a compression-applying configuration;
• said deformation mechanism further configured, while the holder holds the first zone of the bridge of the staple stationary relative to the receiver portion, to apply forces to the second zone of the bridge of the staple producing a resultant force that opposes the forces applied to the first zone by the holder.