Selectively expanding spine cage with enhanced bone graft infusion
First Claim
1. A surgical method comprising:
- providing an interbody implant having first and second bone contacting surfaces, the interbody implant including a port having a first interlocking structure;
inserting the interbody implant between first and second vertebral bodies using an insertion tool having a second interlocking structure detachably interlocked with the first interlocking structure of the port, such that the first bone contacting surface contacts the first vertebral body and the second bone contacting surface contacts the second vertebral body;
moving the first and second bone contacting surfaces away from one another after the inserting step; and
subsequent to the moving step, supplying bone graft material into the interbody implant through the port such that the bone graft material moves from a first location outside of the interbody implant to a second location inside the interbody implant through the port, in order to facilitate infusion of the bone graft material into an intervertebral space.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A selectively expanding spine cage has a minimized cross section in its unexpanded state that is smaller than the diameter of the neuroforamen through which it passes in the distracted spine. The cage conformably engages between the endplates of the adjacent vertebrae to effectively distract the anterior disc space, stabilize the motion segments and eliminate pathologic spine motion. Expanding selectively (anteriorly, along the vertical axis of the spine) rather than uniformly, the cage height increases and holds the vertebrae with fixation forces greater than adjacent bone and soft tissue failure forces in natural lordosis. Stability is thus achieved immediately, enabling patient function by eliminating painful motion. The cage shape intends to rest proximate to the anterior column cortices securing the desired spread and fixation, allowing for bone graft in, around, and through the implant for arthrodesis whereas for arthroplasty it fixes to endpoints but cushions the spine naturally.
222 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A surgical method comprising:
-
providing an interbody implant having first and second bone contacting surfaces, the interbody implant including a port having a first interlocking structure; inserting the interbody implant between first and second vertebral bodies using an insertion tool having a second interlocking structure detachably interlocked with the first interlocking structure of the port, such that the first bone contacting surface contacts the first vertebral body and the second bone contacting surface contacts the second vertebral body; moving the first and second bone contacting surfaces away from one another after the inserting step; and subsequent to the moving step, supplying bone graft material into the interbody implant through the port such that the bone graft material moves from a first location outside of the interbody implant to a second location inside the interbody implant through the port, in order to facilitate infusion of the bone graft material into an intervertebral space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for fusing first and second vertebral bodies comprising:
-
implanting an interbody implant between the first and second vertebral bodies using an insertion tool having a second interlocking structure detachably interlocked with a first interlocking structure of a connector on the interbody implant, so that a first member contacts the first vertebral body and a second member contacts the second vertebral body, the interbody implant having a distal portion and a proximal portion; expanding the first and second members away from each other to increase the size of a cavity formed in the implant after the implanting step; and supplying a bone graft material into the increased size cavity of the interbody implant through an aperture in the implant such that the bone graft material moves from a first location outside of the interbody implant to a second location inside the interbody implant through the aperture, wherein the aperture and the connector are both disposed on the proximal portion of the interbody implant. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification