A bone plate assembly (10) and method of using the same in a patient is disclosedthat includes a ratchet mechanism (56) that allows unidirectional incrementaladjustment of the overall length of the bone plate assembly (10). The bone plateassembly (10) is capable of being created to have various stages. One illustrativebone plate assembly (10) includes an intermediate plate component (16) havinga first tongue (24) extending upwardly from a central portion (26) of the intermediateplate component (16) and a second tongue (28) extending downwardly from the centralportion (26) of the intermediate plate component (16). First and second end platecomponents (18, 20) are included that have first and second tongue grooves thatare adapted to slidably engage at least a portion of the first and second tongues(24, 28). A first and second ratchet mechanism (56) is included that allows thefirst and second end plate components (18, 20) to be incrementally ratchetedtoward the central portion (26) of the intermediate plate component (16).
