Patent ID: 9700426
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: A61F,Y10S

Claim:
1. A surgical method comprising: resecting at least a portion of a left inferior facet; resecting at least a portion of a right inferior facet; inserting a left inferior facet prosthetic component into the resected left inferior facet via a fastener; inserting a right inferior facet prosthetic component into the resected right inferior facet via a fastener, wherein the left inferior facet prosthetic component and the right inferior prosthetic component are connected via a bridge having first and second parallel flanges extending posteriorly from the bridge, wherein the bridge is configured to extend along a natural spinous process formed between the left inferior facet and the right inferior facet without removing or attaching to the natural spinous process, the bridge having a curvature that matches a corresponding lamina and does not contact the lamina, and wherein the first flange extends along a first side of the spinous process and the second flange extends along an opposite side of the spinous process; resecting at least a portion of a left superior facet; resecting at least a portion of a right superior facet; inserting a left superior facet prosthetic component into the resected left superior facet via a fastener; and inserting a right superior facet prosthetic component into the resected right superior facet via a fastener.