Patent ID: 9662123
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F

Claim:
1. A vertical cutting tool comprises: a shaft to which a cutting blade can be attached at one end and externally threaded at an opposite end; a hollow tube or cylinder for receiving the shaft internally; a rotatable knob affixed to the hollow tube and rotatable independent of the tube or cylinder, the knob having internal threads to engage the threads of the shaft; a single detachable vertical cutter having a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends; and wherein the cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends slide into, the cutting blade having a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube extends a distance above the tube outside diameter, the cutting edge cuts linearly relative to the longitudinal axis as the cutting blade is moved inwardly and outwardly and when positioned between adjacent vertebrae is configured to cut disc material by pushing inwardly and pulling outwardly relative to the disc as the cutting edge of the cutting blade scrapes and cuts the disc material parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder or tube, and the cutting blade when retracted deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space.