Complete Orthopedic System for Small Autoclaves – Veterinary Bone Plate and Screw Implant System

The Complete Orthopedic System for Small Autoclaves from Peak Surgicals (SKU: PS-COSSA-00151) is a comprehensive veterinary small animal bone plate and screw implant system supplied in two fitted cases — an aluminium instrument case (approx. 11¾″L × 7″W × 4″H) and a dedicated screw case (approx. 9½″L × 4½″W × 2⅝″H) — sized to fit standard small animal autoclaves for straightforward sterilization without removing components from the case. The system covers five plate and screw diameters — 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm, 3.5mm, and 4.0mm — with 12 bone plates (3 per diameter), 100 screws (20 cortical and cancellous per diameter), five pairs of Neutral and Loaded Drill Guides, drill bits in all five diameters, four pairs of tap sleeves, HA taps in all five diameters, small and large Plate Benders, small and large Depth Gauges, small and large Countersinks, a Small Screw Forceps, and Hex Head Screwdrivers in 1.5mm and 2.5mm. It is used by veterinary surgeons in small animal practice performing open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of long bone fractures, articular fractures, osteotomies, and corrective procedures in dogs and cats across the full range of body sizes from small cats and toy breeds to medium-sized dogs.

Five-Diameter Coverage: 1.5mm to 4.0mm for the Full Range of Small Animal Patients

The five plate-and-screw diameters in this system correspond to the standard veterinary bone plate sizing conventions used in small animal orthopaedic surgery. The 1.5mm system is used in cats, toy breeds, and small dogs weighing under approximately 5kg where the cortical thickness of the femur, tibia, radius, and ulna limits the screw diameter to 1.5mm to avoid cortical splitting. The 2.0mm system extends the range to small cats and dogs up to approximately 10kg for the same long bones and for metacarpal, metatarsal, and phalangeal fractures. The 2.7mm system covers medium cats and dogs of 5–15kg for tibial, radial, femoral, and humeral diaphyseal plating. The 3.5mm system is the standard for medium-to-large dogs (15–40kg) performing ORIF of tibial, radial, femoral, and humeral fractures. The 4.0mm cancellous screw system provides the coarse-thread purchase in cancellous metaphyseal bone for periarticular plating and epiphyseal fractures where the 3.5mm cortical screw lacks adequate purchase in soft cancellous trabecular bone. Together, the five diameters provide comprehensive coverage from the smallest feline fracture patients to medium-large dog orthopedic cases in a single unified system.

Bone Plates: 12 Plates Across Four Diameters in Three Copies Each

The 12 bone plates in the system — three plates each in 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm, and 3.5/4.0mm — are straight dynamic compression or neutralisation plates matched to the screw diameter at each level. The three-plate-per-diameter inventory provides the minimum clinical quantity for a complete surgical day: in typical small animal fracture management, one plate is used for the primary case, one plate provides an intraoperative backup if the first plate requires replacement due to incorrect sizing or inadvertent bending, and the third plate is available for a second case of the same diameter before restocking. The plates are supplied as straight profiles without pre-contouring; veterinary orthopaedic plates are routinely bent intraoperatively using the plate benders to conform to the individual bone surface, and the straight initial profile accommodates any bone geometry encountered. The Plate Benders (small pair for 1.5–2.0mm plates, large pair for 2.7–3.5mm plates) provide the controlled three-point bending force needed to contour the plate without introducing stress risers or notch fractures in the plate material at the bend point.

Drill Guides, Tap Sleeves, HA Taps, and Depth Gauges

The five pairs of Neutral and Loaded Drill Guides (one pair per screw diameter: 1.1mm guide for 1.5mm screw, 1.5mm guide for 2.0mm screw, 2.0mm guide for 2.7mm screw, 2.5mm guide for 3.5mm screw, 3.2mm guide for 4.0mm screw) provide both neutral drilling (for non-compression screw holes where the drill is centred in the plate hole) and loaded drilling (for compression mode where the drill guide is offset to one side of the plate hole, creating an eccentric hole that generates interfragmentary compression as the screw is tightened and the plate slides along the screw head). The Neutral guide is used for the first screw placed (which fixes the plate position) and for lag and neutralisation screws; the Loaded guide is used for compression screws. The four Tap Sleeve pairs protect the plate hole and guide the HA (Hex-head Attachment) Taps axially through the cortex before screw insertion. The five HA Taps (1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm) cut the thread in the bone cortex for self-tapping screws that require cortical pre-tapping in dense bone. The Large Depth Gauge (70mm) measures bicortical depth for screw length selection in larger patients; the Small Depth Gauge (40mm) is used in smaller patients and smaller bone segments where the bicortical distance is short.

Screw Inventory: 100 Screws Across Five Types and Self-Tapping Hex Head Design

The 100 screws — 20 each of cortical self-tapping hex head 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm, 3.5mm, and cancellous self-tapping hex head 4.0mm — provide a working inventory for multiple procedures before restocking. All screws are self-tapping, eliminating the requirement to pre-tap in most cases and reducing operative time, while the HA Taps remain available for dense cortical bone where self-tapping without pre-drilling risks screw breakage. The hex head design allows the 1.5mm Hex Head Screwdriver to drive the 1.5mm and 2.0mm screws, and the 2.5mm Hex Head Screwdriver to drive the 2.7mm, 3.5mm, and 4.0mm screws. The Small Screw Forceps provides non-magnetic screw handling during introduction through the drill guide into the plate hole, preventing screw drop into the surgical wound. The Countersinks (small 4.5mm for 1.5/2.0mm screws, large 6.0mm for 2.7/3.5/4.0mm screws) countersink the cortical plate hole entry to recess the screw head flush with or below the plate surface, reducing periosteal irritation and implant prominence.

Small Autoclave Case Design and Veterinary Practice Compatibility

The system is supplied in two fitted cases with approximate dimensions designed to fit the working chamber of standard small animal veterinary autoclaves — the instrument case at 11¾″L × 7″W × 4″H and the screw case at 9½″L × 4½″W × 2⅝″H. This case-compatible design allows the complete system to be autoclaved as an assembled unit with the instruments and implants organised in their designated foam insert positions, reducing the preparation time between cases and eliminating the need to count and repack individual instruments and screws before each sterilization cycle. The two-case format separates the reusable instruments (in the aluminium instrument case) from the consumable implants (in the screw case), allowing the screw case to be restocked with replacement screw packs for specific diameters independently from the instrument case. All instruments and implants are medical-grade stainless steel compatible with standard steam autoclave sterilization parameters.

Product Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

What species and patient sizes is this system designed for?
The Complete Orthopedic System for Small Autoclaves is designed for small animal veterinary orthopaedic surgery in dogs and cats. The five-diameter range — 1.5mm through 4.0mm — covers patients from small cats and toy breed dogs (1.5mm and 2.0mm systems, under 5–10kg) through medium cats and small dogs (2.7mm system, approximately 5–15kg) to medium and larger dogs (3.5/4.0mm system, approximately 15–40kg). The system is not intended for large or giant breed dogs exceeding approximately 40–50kg, where the 4.5mm or 4.0mm cortical screw systems used with locking plates designed for large dogs are more appropriate. For cats and smaller dogs, the 1.5mm and 2.0mm diameters provide the small-diameter precision required to avoid cortical fracture in thin-cortex long bones of these patients.

What is the difference between neutral and loaded drilling mode?
In bone plate fixation using a dynamic compression plate (DCP) design, the Loaded Drill Guide positions the drill hole eccentrically within the oval plate hole — toward the fracture end of the hole. When the screw head engages the tapered edge of the oval hole as it is tightened, the plate slides away from the fracture site, and the bone fragment is pulled toward the fracture and compressed against the opposite fragment. This is the compression mode — the axial interfragmentary compression generated reduces micromotion at the fracture site and promotes primary bone healing. The Neutral Drill Guide centres the drill in the round or oval hole, producing a non-compressive (neutralisation) screw that holds the plate and bone in position without generating additional compression. The first screw in a repair is typically placed in neutral mode to fix the plate position; subsequent screws in the compression hole use the loaded guide to generate compression. Understanding and correctly applying these two drill guide modes is fundamental to DCP technique in small animal fracture repair.

What is the difference between cortical and cancellous screws in this system?
Cortical screws (1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm, 3.5mm in this system) have a fine thread pitch matched to compact cortical bone — the tighter thread spacing maximises the number of thread engagements per millimetre in dense cortical wall, providing high pullout resistance. Cancellous screws (4.0mm in this system) have a coarser thread pitch and a larger outer-to-core diameter ratio matched to the more porous, lower-density trabecular bone of the metaphysis and epiphysis. The coarser thread provides greater thread engagement volume in soft cancellous trabeculae where a fine cortical thread would not engage effectively. In this system, the 4.0mm cancellous screw is used in periarticular and epiphyseal bone fixation where the fracture or osteotomy site is in predominantly cancellous bone — proximal and distal femur, distal tibia, humeral condyle, femoral head and neck fractures, and tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) plate fixation in the tibial plateau.

Why are there five tap sizes if the screws are self-tapping?
Self-tapping screws are designed to cut their own thread in the bone as they are inserted, and in most small animal cortical bone they can be inserted without pre-tapping. However, in patients with unusually dense cortical bone — typically mature, large breed dogs — forcing a self-tapping screw without pre-tapping can generate sufficient rotational resistance to risk screw breakage, particularly in smaller-diameter screws (1.5mm and 2.0mm) where the screw shaft cross-section is small. The HA Taps (1.5mm through 4.0mm) pre-cut the thread in the drill hole before screw insertion when required, eliminating the rotational force from self-cutting during screw advancement and allowing the surgeon to tactilely confirm the correct torque before final seating. The tap sleeves protect the plate hole threads during tapping. Pre-tapping is most often used in mature large dogs with the 3.5mm system, and less commonly in cats and small dogs.

Can individual screws, plates, or instruments be ordered as replacements?
Individual screw packs by diameter and length, bone plates by diameter, and individual instruments (drill bits, drill guides, tap sleeves, depth gauges, plate benders, countersinks, screwdrivers) are available from Peak Surgicals as replacement items. For veterinary practices using this system for multiple cases, replacement screw packs for the most commonly used diameters can be ordered independently to restock the screw case without replacing the entire system. OEM manufacturing and custom system configurations are available for veterinary distributors and large practices. Contact Peak Surgicals directly for replacement component pricing and institutional procurement arrangements.