A system for seating an implant between adjacent first and second bones comprising: the implant; and a distracter in communication with said implant; wherein the system further comprises: a removable sleeve structured to cover at least a portion of said implant, the sleeve being structured to interpose said implant and first and second bones, a sleeve-implant interface having a lower engagement force than an engagement force at a sleeve-bone interface, wherein said distracter is in communication with said sleeve and is structured to displace said implant, relative to said sleeve, towards a final seated position of the implant during which the sleeve-bone engagement force has not been exceeded and a relative position of the sleeve to the first and second bone does not significantly change, such that further advancement of the implant is restricted, characterized in that the system is further structured so that continued displacement of the distractor then overcomes the sleeve-bone engagement force and moves the sleeve away from the final seated position of the implant and out of an implant-bone interface, and in that both the removable sleeve and the distractor can be removed when the implant is seated. the implant; and a distracter in communication with said implant; wherein the system further comprises: a removable sleeve structured to cover at least a portion of said implant, the sleeve being structured to interpose said implant and first and second bones, a sleeve-implant interface having a lower engagement force than an engagement force at a sleeve-bone interface, wherein said distracter is in communication with said sleeve and is structured to displace said implant, relative to said sleeve, towards a final seated position of the implant during which the sleeve-bone engagement force has not been exceeded and a relative position of the sleeve to the first and second bone does not significantly change, such that further advancement of the implant is restricted, characterized in that the system is further structured so that continued displacement of the distractor then overcomes the sleeve-bone engagement force and moves the sleeve away from the final seated position of the implant and out of an implant-bone interface, and in that both the removable sleeve and the distractor can be removed when the implant is seated. a removable sleeve structured to cover at least a portion of said implant, the sleeve being structured to interpose said implant and first and second bones, a sleeve-implant interface having a lower engagement force than an engagement force at a sleeve-bone interface, wherein said distracter is in communication with said sleeve and is structured to displace said implant, relative to said sleeve, towards a final seated position of the implant during which the sleeve-bone engagement force has not been exceeded and a relative position of the sleeve to the first and second bone does not significantly change, such that further advancement of the implant is restricted, characterized in that the system is further structured so that continued displacement of the distractor then overcomes the sleeve-bone engagement force and moves the sleeve away from the final seated position of the implant and out of an implant-bone interface, and in that both the removable sleeve and the distractor can be removed when the implant is seated.