Claims
- 1. An implant system for relieving pain associated with at least one of the spine, and associated tissues and structures, which implant is positionable between adjacent spinous processes of the spine, the implant system comprising:a sleeve which is inwardly deflectable, which sleeve is adapted to be positionable between two adjacent spinous processes; wherein said sleeve has first and second ends, a longitudinal axis, and at least one flexible wire which is positioned through the sleeve and said wire having portions which extends out both of said first end and said second end; and wherein said portions of said flexible wire being non-parallel to said longitudinal axis.
- 2. An implant system for relieving pain associated with at least one of a spine, and associated tissues and structures, comprising:a sleeve having a continuous surface and an inwardly deflectable cross-section, the sleeve being adapted to be positionable between two adjacent spinous processes.
- 3. The implant of claim 2, wherein the sleeve has a first end and a second end.
- 4. The implant of claim 3, further comprising:at least one flexible wire positioned through the sleeve; wherein the at least one flexible wire includes a portion which extends from at least one of the first end and the second end, such that the at least one flexible wire can prevent the sleeve from being displaced from between the two adjacent spinous processes.
- 5. The implant of claim 2, wherein the sleeve is comprised of a super-elastic alloy of nickel and titanium.
- 6. The implant of claim 2, wherein the sleeve is comprised of a material which can absorb about 8% recoverable elongation.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/474,038, filed Dec. 28, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,882, which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/474,037, filed Dec. 28, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,387, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/175,645, filed Oct. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,630, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/958,281, filed on Oct. 27, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,977, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/778,093, filed Jan. 2, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,948.
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Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09/474038 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/842756 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/175645 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/474037 |
|
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/958281 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/175645 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/778093 |
Jan 1997 |
US |
Child |
08/958281 |
|
US |