1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a veritable prosthetic system and device and a method for implanting the device and, more particularly, to a spinal fusion system and method for fusing spinal bones.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many types of prosthetic devices have been proposed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,327 to Brantagan concerns a surgical prosthetic modular implant used singularly or stacked together to support and fuse together adjacent vertebrae or to totally or partially replace one or more vertebrae in a vertebral column. Other surgical implant devices and methods are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,327; 5,261,911; 5,713,899; 5,776,196; 6,136,002; 6,159,245; 6,224,602; 6,258,089; 6,261,586; 6,264,655; 6,306,136; 6,328,738 and 6,592,586. Some or all of these devices have improved the success rate and have simplified the surgical techniques in inter-body veritable fusion.
Among some of the problems associated with the prior art devices is that after the device is inserted into a patient during a surgical procedure, there was a possibility of retropulsion of the inter-body device and graft material into the spinal cord or other neurological element.
Another problem with the prior art devices is that grafting material, which was inserted into the devices during the surgical procedure, could not easily be inserted from an anterior direction.
Moreover, in some of the prior art devices, the cover, if any, was typically fastened directly to the device and to spinal bones, which prevented the cover from being capable of moving relative to the device. In addition, in devices that used a cover, the cover did not function to both retain the grafting material in the device and simultaneously fix the spinal bones relative to each other.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method which facilitates overcoming one or more of the aforementioned problems as well as other problems and to provide a device that has unique features that will facilitate reducing the risk associated with neurological surgeries and advance the present state of the art.
It is, therefore, one object of the invention to provide a spinal fusion system and method which utilizes a housing that can be inserted, but comprises features which, for example, enables the device to float relative to a cover, facilitates retaining any graft material within the device, facilitates fixing a relative relation among or between spinal bones, facilitates providing a cover for covering one or multiple devices, and/or includes locking features that facilitates preventing the screws which secure the cover to the spinal bones from the retracting.
In one embodiment, the invention comprises a spinal fusion system for use as a prosthetic implant comprising a housing dimensioned to be situated between adjacent spinal bones, the housing defining a graft area the housing comprising at least one wall that defines an opening after the housing is situated between the adjacent spinal bones to permit in-situ loading of graft material.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a spinal bones fusing system comprising a housing for situating between a first spinal bones and a second spinal bones the housing being generally U-shaped and cooperating with the first and second spinal bones to define an opening that opens into a graft area for receiving graft material.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a method for fusing spinal bones together, comprising the steps of situating a cage in a graft area between spinal bones, the cage cooperating with the spinal bones to define an anterior opening for introducing graft material into the graft area situating graft material through the anterior opening and into the graft area; and covering the anterior opening with a cover.
In still another embodiment, the invention comprises an implant for facilitating grafting spinal bones together, comprising a housing for situating between the spinal bones, the housing cooperating with the spinal bones to define a graft area and an opening for introducing graft material into the graft opening; and a cover for securing to the spinal bones, the cover covering the opening after the graft material is fixed to the spinal bones.
And yet another embodiment, the invention comprises, a method for fusing spinal bones together, comprising the steps of providing a housing for situating between spinal bones, the housing cooperating with the spinal bones to define an opening for introducing graft material into the graft area after the housing and enabling the graft material to be introduced through the opening and into the graft area after the housing is situated between the spinal bones.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a prosthetic implant plate comprising a generally planar member; and an integral lock for preventing withdrawal of at least one screw after the at least one screw is screwed into a spinal bone.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a spinal fusion system for use as a prosthetic implant comprising a housing dimensioned to be situated between adjacent spinal bones, the housing defining a graft area for receiving a graft or graft-like material for generating a fusion between the adjacent spinal bones, the housing comprising at least one wall that defines an opening after the housing is situated between the adjacent spinal bones to permit post-placement loading of graft material.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.
Referring now to
In the embodiment being described, a spinal fusion system 24 is provided for use as a prosthetic implant during a neurological procedure such as the aforementioned vertebrectomy or discectomy. In general, after the discs 18, 20 and 22 (
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As mentioned later herein, the predetermined shape defined by the spinal fusion system 24 may provide a fused multi-sided plug of fusion material 32 having a height H (
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The spinal fusion system 24 further comprises at least one migration stop or crossbar 60 as illustrated in
It should be understood that a plurality of the migration stops or cross bars 60 may be used alone or in combination with the migration preventers 48b, 48c, 50b and 50c. It should be understood that the stops 60 could be detachable, as shown in
The system 24 further comprises a system or means for preventing retraction or back out of the screws 46 after they are screwed into the spinal bones 10-16 in order to secure the cover 42 thereto. The spinal fusion system 24 of the present invention may be used with conventional screw lock devices or with a unique locking mechanism and system, which will now be described relative to
As illustrated in
In the embodiment being described, the components of the spinal fusion system 24, such as the housing 32, first channel wall portion 48 and second channel wall portion 50, crossbar 60, cover 42 and screws 46 may be made of any desired composition or material such as a polymer, composite polymer, titanium, stainless steel, carbon fiber or other suitable material.
A method for fusing spinal bones together will now be described relative to
As illustrated in
At Block 76, the graft material 38 is inserted and at Block 78, the cover 42 is situated in the slot or area 52 defined by the walls 48 and 50. As mentioned earlier herein, the cover 42 facilitates covering the openings, such as openings 34a and 36a of the graft areas 34 and 36, respectively. The surgeon secures the cover 42 to one or more of the bones, as illustrated in
Again, and as mentioned earlier, a feature of the invention is that it provides a fixing system for fixing the location of the bones 12-16 relative to each other. Simultaneously, the system 24 permits the housing 32 to “float” between adjacent bones, such as bones 10 and 12 in
It is also anticipated that the invention may be used in a multitude of procedures, such as a vertebrectomy (
In the illustrations being described, the housings 32 comprise the crossbar 60 which cooperate with the cover 42 to prevent anterior migration of the housing after the screws 46 are secured to the spinal bones as illustrated in
In
It should be understood that walls 48 and 50 may have notched areas (not shown) for receiving the cover 42, thereby eliminating the need for cross bars 60.
Advantageously, the various embodiments of the invention illustrated in
While the apparatus and method described constitute preferred embodiments of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise apparatus and method, and that changes may be made in either without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10/675,361, filed Sep. 30, 2003, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,782 which is incorporated herein by reference and made a part thereof.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10675361 | Sep 2003 | US |
Child | 11624341 | US |