Patent ID: 9408598
Filing Date: 2016-08-09
CPC Classification: A61B,A61F

Claim Text:
1. A method for accessing an intervertebral disc space in a body of a patient, the method comprising: making an incision in a region of the patient's body that permits access to a psoas muscle; directing a blade of a first dissecting retractor through the incision and such that a distal end of the first dissecting retractor blade is positioned proximate the intervertebral disc space; directing, independently of the first dissecting retractor blade, a blade of a second dissecting retractor through the incision and such that a distal end of the second dissecting retractor blade is positioned proximate the intervertebral disc space, the first and second dissecting retractor blades employed during their placement within the patient's body in a tissue dissection process to gain access to the intervertebral disc space; and following the positioning of the distal ends of the first and second dissecting retractor blades proximate the intervertebral disc space, coupling the first and second dissecting retractors to one another.