The invention provides a surgical bone tie for use in joining abutting bone surfaces for fusing or knitting of the bone together, the tie comprising first and second pieces each having a proximal end region and a distal end region which define a longitudinal axis therebetween, wherein the distal end regions are each provided with a mounting feature for fixing, or permitting the fixing, of each piece to respective underlying portions of bone, wherein the proximal end regions of each pieces are adapted for engagement together along said axis so that one proximal end region may be accommodated by the other proximal end region to provide a bridge between the respective distal end regions, the engagement permitting one way travel of one piece progressively towards the other so that the bridge length becomes progressively smaller until a desired amount of separation between the distal end regions is obtained, and the a desired compression between the abutting bones is obtained. The engagement between the proximal end regions preferably comprises a ratchet and pawl connection.
