Combination intra-medullary and extra-medullary fracture stabilization with aligning arm

A fracture fixation apparatus for securing a plurality of bone segments including at least one fracture associated with the plurality of bone segments, comprising:

• an intramedullary structure;
• one or more fasteners;
• wherein the intramedullary structure comprises a plurality of intramedullary structure clearance holes for accepting one or more of the fasteners;
• an extramedullary structure;
• wherein the extramedullary structure comprises a plurality of extramedullary structure clearance holes for accepting one or more of the fasteners;
• an aligning arm, for mechanically registering the intramedullary structure and the extramedullary structure;
• wherein the aligning arm comprises one or more first alignment features for providing mechanical alignment of at least one of the intramedullary structure clearance holes with at least one of the extramedullary structure clearance holes to form mechanically aligned clearance holes;
• and
• the aligning arm further comprises one or more second alignment features for providing mechanical alignment of at least one fastener with the mechanically aligned clearance holes, so as to allow for insertion of the at least one fastener within at least one respective extramedullary structure clearance hole and at least one respective intramedullary structure clearance hole in mechanical registration.

A method of securing an intramedullary structure to a bone, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning the intramedullary structure at least partially within the bone;
• positioning an extramedullary structure adjacent the bone, the extramedullary structure having a plurality of extramedullary structure clearance holes;
• placing an arm in alignment with the intramedullary structure and the extramedullary structure, such that one or more first alignment features of the arm are in alignment with a plurality of intramedullary structure clearance holes formed in the intramedullary structure, and such that one or more second alignment features of the arm are in alignment with respective ones of the plurality of extramedullary structure clearance holes;
• inserting one or more intramedullary fasteners into the clearance holes in the intramedullary structure;
• inserting one or more extramedullary fasteners into the extramedullary structure clearance holes;
• and
• inserting one or more additional screws into at least one extramedullary structure clearance hole and at least one intramedullary structure clearance hole.