Anterior cervical plating system and associated method
DCFirst Claim
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1. A spinal plating system comprising;
- an elongated plate having a plurality of bone screw apertures;
a locking ring disposed in one of the bone screw apertures, the locking ring having at least a portion resiliently expandable from a retracted state to an expanded state;
a bone screw inserted into the one of the bone screw apertures, the bone screw having a head with a diameter sized such that in the retracted state the locking ring prevents the bone screw from backing out of the plate and in the expanded state the locking ring permits insertion and removal of the bone screw relative to the one bone screw aperture; and
a tool for removing the bone screw from the one bone screw aperture, the tool having a first portion coupled to the head of the bone screw and a second portion resiliently expanding the locking ring to the expanded state.
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Abstract
An anterior cervical plating system for securing multiple bone segments relative to each other includes a plate member having multiple pairs of nodes. Each node defines a bone screw aperture. Linking segments connect the pairs of nodes to one another. Between adjacent linking segments are elongated viewing windows. The bone screw apertures each include an integral locking mechanism to ensure that the bone screws do not back out of the plate member. The locking mechanisms and the bone screw apertures allow for angular freedom of insertion of the bone screws into a vertebral body or other bone portion.
526 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A spinal plating system comprising;
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an elongated plate having a plurality of bone screw apertures;
a locking ring disposed in one of the bone screw apertures, the locking ring having at least a portion resiliently expandable from a retracted state to an expanded state;
a bone screw inserted into the one of the bone screw apertures, the bone screw having a head with a diameter sized such that in the retracted state the locking ring prevents the bone screw from backing out of the plate and in the expanded state the locking ring permits insertion and removal of the bone screw relative to the one bone screw aperture; and
a tool for removing the bone screw from the one bone screw aperture, the tool having a first portion coupled to the head of the bone screw and a second portion resiliently expanding the locking ring to the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A plating system for securing a first portion of bone to a second portion of bone, the plating system comprising:
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a plate member defining a plurality of bone screw apertures, at least one of the plurality of bone screw apertures including an annular groove formed in a sidewall portion;
a plurality of bone screws each inserted into an associated bone screw aperture of the plurality of bone screw apertures; and
a locking ring retained in at least one of the plurality of bone screw apertures and operative to prevent backing out of the bone screw inserted in the at least one bone screw aperture, the locking ring including a first radially extending flange disposed in the annular groove of the at least one bone screw aperture and a second radially extending flange upwardly spaced from the first radially extending flange;
the locking ring being resiliently expandable from a retracted state to an expanded state to permit insertion of one of the bone screws into the at least one bone screw aperture;
wherein each bone screw of the plurality of bone screws has a head having a head diameter and further wherein the second radially extending flange defines an upper opening having a first diameter when the locking ring is in the retracted state and a second diameter when the locking ring is in the expanded state, the first diameter being less than the head diameter, the second diameter being greater than the head diameter. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of surgically repairing bone with an elongated plate having a plurality of bone screw apertures, the method comprising the steps of:
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locating a locking ring in one of the bone screw apertures, the locking ring defining a locking ring opening and being resiliently expandable from a retracted state to an expanded state such that the locking ring opening has a first opening diameter in the retracted state and a second, larger opening diameter in the expanded state;
inserting a bone screw into the one of the bone screw apertures, the bone screw having a head with a head diameter greater than the first opening diameter and less than the second opening diameter; and
removing the bone screw from the one bone screw aperture with a tool having a first portion threadably engaging the head of the bone screw and a second portion resiliently expanding the locking ring to the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for surgically repairing bone, the system comprising:
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an elongated plate having a plurality of bone screw apertures;
a locking ring disposed in one of the bone screw apertures, the locking ring defining a locking ring opening and being resiliently expandable from a retracted state to an expanded state such that the locking ring opening has a first opening diameter in the retracted state and a second, larger opening diameter in the expanded state;
a bone screw inserted into the one of the bone screw apertures, the bone screw having a head with a diameter greater than the first opening1 diameter and less than the second opening diameter; and
a tool for removing the bone screw from the one bone screw aperture, the tool having a first portion threadably engaging the head of the bone screw and a second portion for resiliently expanding the locking ring to the expanded state. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification