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  Intervertebral spacerUSPTO Application #: 20060212119Title: Intervertebral spacer Abstract: An intervertebral spacer adapted for implanting between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine as a load-bearing replacement for a spinal disc. The spacing member may include an external, non-porous, concavo-convex contour with respect to one dimension of the spacing member. The spacing member may be constructed from a rigid, non-resilient load-bearing material that is incapable of elastic deformation. The spacing member may be inserted with the aid of a sheathed trocar device that is releasably attached to the spacer, to enable implantation and selective positioning of the spacer by the surgeon from the posterior side of the spine, without the need to retract the dural nerve or the posterior longitudinal ligament. (end of abstract) Agent: Karl R Cannon - Sandy, UT, US Inventors: Peter Pal Varga, James W. Ogilvie USPTO Applicaton #: 20060212119 - Class: 623017110 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Prosthesis (i.e., Artificial Body Members), Parts Thereof, Or Aids And Accessories Therefor, Implantable Prosthesis, Bone, Spine Bone The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060212119. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/205,284, filed Aug. 15, 2005, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/081,824, filed Mar. 15, 2005, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/957,328, filed Oct. 1, 2004 entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/800,418, filed Mar. 12, 2004, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/643,779, filed Aug. 18, 2003, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/358,103, filed Feb. 3, 2003, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/188,281, filed Jul. 1, 2002, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/592,072, filed Jun. 12, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,318, entitled "Intervertebral Spacer," which applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation by reference being made with the following exception: In the event that any portion of the above-referenced applications is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said above-referenced applications. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable. BACKGROUND [0003] 1. The Field of the Invention. [0004] The present disclosure relates generally to an intervertebral spacer, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a interbody spacing system for accomplishing enhanced intervertebral fusion between adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine. [0005] 2. Description of Related Art. [0006] The human spine is a complex, sophisticated mechanical system. The vertebrate spine operates as a structural member, providing structural support for the other body parts. A normal human spine is segmented with seven cervical, twelve thoracic and five lumbar segments. The lumbar portion of the spine resides on the sacrum, which is attached to the pelvis. The pelvis is supported by the hips and leg bones. The bony vertebral bodies of the spine are separated by intervertebral discs, which reside sandwiched between the vertebral bodies and operate as joints allowing known degrees of flexion, extension, lateral bending and axial rotation. [0007] The intervertebral disc primarily serves as a mechanical cushion between adjacent vertebral bodies, and permits controlled motions within vertebral segments of the axial skeleton. The disc is a multi-element system, having three basic components: the nucleus pulposus ("nucleus"), the annulus fibrosus ("annulus") and two vertebral end plates. The end plates are made of thin cartilage overlying a thin layer of hard, cortical bone that attaches to the spongy, richly vascular, cancellous bone of the vertebral body. The plates thereby operate to attach adjacent vertebrae to the disc. In other words, a transitional zone is created by the end plates between the malleable disc and the bony vertebrae. [0008] The annulus of the disc forms the disc perimeter, and is a tough, outer fibrous ring that binds adjacent vertebrae together. The fiber layers of the annulus include fifteen to twenty overlapping plies, which are inserted into the superior and inferior vertebral bodies at roughly a 40 degree angle in both directions. This causes bi-directional torsional resistance, as about half of the angulated fibers will tighten when the vertebrae rotate in either direction. [0009] It is common practice to remove a spinal disc in cases of spinal disc deterioration, disease or spinal injury. The discs sometimes become diseased or damaged such that the intervertebral separation is reduced. Such events cause the height of the disc nucleus to decrease, which in turn causes the annulus to buckle in areas where the laminated plies are loosely bonded. As the overlapping laminated plies of the annulus begin to buckle and separate, either circumferential or radial annular tears may occur. Such disruption to the natural intervertebral separation produces pain, which can be alleviated by removal of the disc and maintenance of the natural separation distance. In cases of chronic back pain resulting from a degenerated or herniated disc, removal of the disc becomes medically necessary. [0010] In some cases, the damaged disc may be replaced with a disc prosthesis intended to duplicate the function of the natural spinal disc. U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,477 (granted Sep. 5, 1989 to Monson) discloses a resilient spinal disc prosthesis intended to replace the resiliency of a natural human spinal disc. U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,326 (granted Mar. 9, 1993 to Bao et al.) teaches a prosthetic nucleus for replacing just the nucleus portion of a human spinal disc. [0011] In other cases it is desired to fuse the adjacent vertebrae together after removal of the disc, sometimes referred to as "intervertebral fusion" or "interbody fusion." [0012] In cases of intervertebral fusion, it is known to position a spacer centrally within the space where the spinal disc once resided, or to position multiple spacers within that space. Such practices are characterized by certain disadvantages, including a disruption in the natural curvature of the spine. For example, the vertebrae in the lower "lumbar" region of the spine reside in an arch referred to in the medical field as having a sagittal alignment. The sagittal alignment is compromised when adjacent vertebral bodies that were once angled toward each other on their posterior side become fused in a different, less angled orientation relative to one another. [0013] Another disadvantage of known spacing techniques and intervertebral spacers are the additional surgical complications that arise in the use of multiple spacers in a single disc space. In such cases, surgeons will often first perform a posterior surgery to remove the affected disc and affix posterior instrumentation to the posterior side of the vertebrae to hold the posterior portions of the vertebrae in a desired position. Placement of the multiple spacers is often too difficult to accomplish from the posterior side of the patient, at least without causing with undue trauma to the patient, because a surgeon would need to retract the dura nerve as well as the anterior longitudinal ligament, thereby increasing damage, pain and morbidity to the patient. Surgeons have therefore often chosen to turn the patient over after completing the posterior surgical portion, to perform an anterior operative procedure, through the patient's belly, in order to insert multiple spacers between the vertebrae from the anterior side instead of from the posterior side. [0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,554 (granted Oct. 5, 1999 to Janson et al.) illustrates a spacer having a high degree of porosity throughout, for enhanced tissue ingrowth characteristics. This patent does not address the problem of compromising the sagittal alignment, or of increased pain and trauma to the patient by implantation of multiple spacers in a single disk space. [0015] The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein. [0016] The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: [0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an intervertebral spacer, made in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure; [0019] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the intervertebral spacer of FIG. 1; [0020] FIG. 3 is a frontal view of the intervertebral spacer of FIGS. 1 and 2; Continue reading... Full patent description for Intervertebral spacer Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Intervertebral spacer patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Intervertebral spacer or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Anterior impacted bone graft and driver instruments Next Patent Application: Method and apparatus for total disc replacements with oblique keels Industry Class: Prosthesis (i.e., artificial body members), parts thereof, or aids and accessories therefor ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Intervertebral spacer patent info. 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