METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING MATERIAL IN THE SPINE
First Claim
1. A method of preparing the spine for a subsequent procedure, comprising the steps of:
- identifying an access site on the anterior surface of the spine;
forming a lumen from the access site into the sacrum, through at least one vertebral body and into at least one intervertebral disc, wherein the intervertebral disc comprises a disc nucleus surrounded by a disc annulus;
introducing a cutter apparatus through the lumen and into the intervertebral disc, the cutter comprising an axially elongated rotatable shaft having at least one radially outwardly extendable cutter blade; and
rotating the cutter blade to disrupt nucleus material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are surgical tools, tool sets and methods for percutaneously accessing and preparing treatment sites within the spine for subsequent treatment procedures. The treatment site may be an inter-vertebral motion segments in the lumbar and sacral regions of the spine. The tool set may comprise introducer tools and bone dilators for accessing and tapping into a targeted site, such as, for example, the anterior surface of the S1 vertebral body. The tool set may also comprise cutters and extractors for preparing the treatment site for subsequent treatment procedures. The tool set may additionally comprise a bone graft inserter, an exchange system, and/or a temporary distraction tool for further preparing the treatment site for subsequent treatment procedures.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of preparing the spine for a subsequent procedure, comprising the steps of:
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identifying an access site on the anterior surface of the spine; forming a lumen from the access site into the sacrum, through at least one vertebral body and into at least one intervertebral disc, wherein the intervertebral disc comprises a disc nucleus surrounded by a disc annulus; introducing a cutter apparatus through the lumen and into the intervertebral disc, the cutter comprising an axially elongated rotatable shaft having at least one radially outwardly extendable cutter blade; and rotating the cutter blade to disrupt nucleus material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of preparing the spine for a subsequent procedure, comprising the steps of:
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identifying an access site on the anterior surface of the spine; forming a lumen from the access site into the sacrum, through at least one vertebral body and into at least one intervertebral disc, wherein the intervertebral disc comprises a disc nucleus surrounded by a disc annulus; introducing a cutter apparatus through the lumen and into the intervertebral disc, the cutter comprising a cutter sheath and an axially elongated rotatable shaft having at least one radially outwardly extendable cutter blade; and rotating the cutter blade to disrupt nucleus material; wherein the cutter sheath comprises a sheath lumen extending between a sheath proximal end and a sheath distal end;
the shaft extends along a longitudinal axis between a shaft proximal end and a shaft distal end, at least a portion of the shaft moveably positioned within the sheath lumen;
the cutter blade comprising an elongate ribbon comprising;a first end, a distal segment, a bend, a proximal segment and a second end, the distal segment and the proximal segment being connected at the bend, at which the ribbon folds back upon itself such that the second side surface generally opposes itself; a first side surface for positioning adjacent a vertebral end plate when the blade is oriented generally transverse to the longitudinal axis; a second side surface separated from the first side surface by a blade thickness; at least one cutting edge; wherein the distal segment comprises a first attachment structure secured proximate the shaft distal end and the proximal segment comprises a second attachment structure secured proximate the shaft distal end, wherein one of the first and the second attachment structures comprises a slot and the other of the first and the second attachment structures comprises a hole, the first attachment structure and the second attachment structure are secured to the shaft distal end with a pin.
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Specification