Biomechanical Comparison of Use of Two Screws versus Three Screws Per Fragment with Locking Plate Constructs under Cyclic Loading in Compression in a Fracture Gap Model.

 Omission of the third innermost locking screw during bridging osteosynthesis subjected to compression forces led to a 13.3% reduction in the number of cycles to failure and a 23.5% reduction of the load withstood by the plate before plastic deformation occurred.