The Gorilla® Calc Slide Plate was engineered with a streamlined surgical technique in mind. By offering supporting instrumentation that lends itself to minimize the amount of steps, we strove to design a plating system that’s as easy (or easier) to insert than cannulated screws. The hood height is less than 5 mm in order to offer versatility in osteotomy displacement distance. The footprint along the osteotomy is wide rather than long to help prevent additional dissection and soft tissue disruption, while maintaining a “straight-in” plating technique. The hood hole is threaded and allows for a locking screw to be placed across the osteotomy–helping to provide additional stability while maintaining the ability to deliver compression via Gorilla® locking screw technology.

Since this osteotomy has a tendency to fail in rotation, testing was performed to determine what would improve rotational stability. Our testing showed that a wider foot print and two proximal screws were most effective in providing rotational stability, and were thus incorporated into our plate design.

Paragon 28®’s Design Rationale
We respect that screw fixation is a good alternative for calcaneal slide osteotomy fixation. There are situations to consider where a plate may be the better option. In a child with open growth plates, a plate may be a sound alternative, as to not disrupt the growth plate. Likewise, in a patient who may struggle with post-operative pain due to screw head prominence, the Gorilla® Calc Slide Plate could be a good alternative.