Patent ID: 9468534
Filing Date: 2016-10-18
CPC Classification: A61B,A61F

Claim Text:
1. A method of treating a patient's spine comprising: accessing at least a portion of a patient's spine via a posterior approach; inserting an implantable body between vertebra bodies of the patient's spine, wherein the body comprises an upper surface, a lower surface, an anterior portion, a posterior portion, and one or more first apertures within the posterior portion of the implantable body, each of the one or more first apertures configured for receiving one of a set of fixation elements; inserting one of the set of fixation elements through one of the first apertures and into the surrounding bone tissue to attach the implantable body to the vertebral bodies, wherein each of the fixation elements comprises a head portion with a bored section; placing a plate having one or more second apertures onto the implantable body, the placement being based on alignment of one of the second apertures of the plate over the bored section of the head portion of the inserted fixation element; and inserting a locking element through the one or more second apertures into the head portion of the inserted fixation element.