Patent ID: 9649138
Date: 2017-05-16
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A surgical method for implanting a facet screw into a spine of a patient comprising the steps of: identifying a target facet joint located on a first side of a midline of a patient's spine; the target facet joint comprising the inferior articular face of a first vertebral body and the superior articular face of an adjacent lower second vertebral body; inserting a facet screw into a patient at a point of skin penetration located on a second side of the midline of the patient's spine that is opposite from the first side of the midline and cephalad of the target facet joint; moving the facet screw subcutaneously from the point of skin penetration through an interspinous ligament located between the first vertebral body and adjacent higher third vertebral body at a point of interspinous ligament penetration; moving the facet screw subcutaneously from the point of interspinous ligament penetration to the first vertebral body at a location adjacent to the target facet joint on the first side of the midline; delivering the facet screw into the bone of the first vertebral body at a location adjacent to the target facet joint; and driving the facet screw across the upper and lower articular faces of the target facet joint.