METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING POSTERIOR OR ANTERIOR TRANS-SACRAL ACCESS TO SPINAL VERTEBRAE

• US 20070055260A1
• Filed: 08/07/2006
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mis Ip Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Andrew Cragg
• Inventors: Cragg, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 7,641,657 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/79
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1631 Special drive shafts, e.g. flexible shafts A61B17/1642, A61B17/164 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1671 for the spine
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3403 Needle locating or guiding means guides for suture needles A61B17/0482; guiding or tracking by nuclear magnetic resonance G01R33/285
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3472 for bones, e.g. intraosseus injections

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for providing percutaneous access to vertebrae in alignment with a visualized, trans-sacral axial instrumentation/fusion (TASIF) line in a minimally invasive, low trauma, manner are disclosed. A number of related TASIF methods and surgical tool sets are provided by the present invention that are employed to form a percutaneous pathway from an anterior or posterior skin incision to a respective anterior or posterior target point of a sacral surface. The percutaneous pathway is generally axially aligned with an anterior or posterior axial instrumentation/fusion line extending from the respective anterior or posterior target point through at least one sacral vertebral body and one or more lumbar vertebral bodies in the cephalad direction. The provision of the percutaneous pathway described herein allows for the formation of the anterior or posterior TASIF bore(s) and/or the introduction of spinal implants and instruments.

Claims

1. A surgical operating system for forming a percutaneous pathway from a skin incision generally axially aligned with a series of adjacent vertebrae located within a human lumbar and sacral spine having an anterior aspect, a posterior aspect and an axial aspect, the vertebrae separated by intact or damaged spinal discs, the system comprising:

guide means operable from a skin incision for accessing an anterior or posterior sacral position of a sacral vertebra that is aligned with a visualized, trans-sacral axial instrumentation/fusion line extending in said axial aspect through the series of adjacent vertebral bodies; and

tract means defining a percutaneous tract having a tract axis aligned with said visualized, trans-sacral axial instrumentation/fusion line and extending from the skin incision to the accessed sacral position to facilitate surgical procedures aligned with said visualized, trans-sacral axial instrumentation/fusion line.