Patent ID: 9707094
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. An expandable anterior lumbar interbody fusion device, comprising: a deformable monolithic body having a posterior end and an anterior end, an upper bone contact structure having an upper opening therethrough, a lower bone contact structure having a lower opening therethrough, a pair of spaced apart side structures joining said upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure, each of said side structures having an opening therethrough and defining with said upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure an open interior of said body, said upper opening, said lower opening and said openings through said side structures for communicating with said interior, said body being expandable along a height axis between a first smaller height to a second larger expanded height, each of said side structures including: a translatable center section between said upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure, said center section having a first end and an opposite second end, said center section being movable in a direction transverse to said height axis; a first locator arm adjacent the posterior end, said first locator arm being joined to said upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure at the respective posterior ends by a deformable joint, said first end of said center section being detached and separated from said first locator arm; a second locator arm adjacent the anterior end, said second locator arm being joined to said center section at said second end and to said upper bone upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure at the respective anterior ends by a deformable joint, said second locator arm being deformable between said deformable joints; and a pair of formable load-bearing columns supported by said upper bone contact structure, said lower bone contact structure and said center section that are not formed at said first height and are operative upon expansion of said body to said second height to form said load-bearing columns along the height axis that spans the distance between said upper bone contact structure and said lower bone contact structure.