Surgical cable

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides a highly flexible cable with a leader which is significantly more malleable then the cable to enable operating room personnel to shape the leader to the desired shape to pass the leader into the proper position between or around bones.
The leader is removed from the cable after the cable is secured in its desired position.
The difference between the fixation portion of the cable which is used to secure the bone or prosthesis to bones and the leader is based on a difference in material condition.
The malleable leader portion of the cable is significantly more ductile then the fixation portion of the cable.
The stiffness of the multistrand leader should be greater than the stiffness of the cable, and also be significantly less than stiffness of a 20 gauge (0.
032 in) monofilament wire that has been previously employed as a leader for a cerclage cable.
This allows the leader portion of the cable to be formed by hand into in the desired shape, passed into the proper position, and the fixation portion can then be pulled to fully expose and place the fixation portion in the desired position, and the leader can then be removed from the fixation portion of the cable and discarded.
The fixation portion of the cable is then cinched or crimped or otherwise secured in the proper position after the correct amount of force has been applied to the cable.