Patent ID: 7655042

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising a vertebral spacer insertable between adjacent vertebrae having: a first monolithic arm having a proximal end and a distal end; a second monolithic arm having a proximal end and a distal end; a first monolithic sidewall having a first end pivotally connected to the proximal end of the first arm and a second end pivotally connected to the proximal end of the second arm to allow the first and second ends of the first sidewall to pivot about the proximal ends of the first and second arms; and a second monolithic sidewall having a first end pivotally connected to the distal end of the first arm and a second end pivotally connected to the distal end of the second arm to allow the first and second ends of the second sidewall to pivot about the distal ends of the first and second arms; and wherein the spacer is collapsible to a reduced size configuration defining a first overall lateral spacer width between the first and second arms for insertion into a disc space and the spacer is expandable to an expanded configuration inside the disc space to define a second overall lateral spacer width between the first and second arms greater than the first overall lateral spacer width, the expanded configuration providing the spacer with an increased lateral base of support within the disc space, and wherein the first arm, the second arm and the first and second sidewalls are rigid and substantially non-deformable in both the reduced size and expanded configurations and as the spacer is expanded from the reduced size configuration to the expanded configuration.