Patent ID: 8758409

Claim:
A spinal stabilization system, comprising: a laminar support member for being engaged between respective laminar regions of adjacent, upper and lower vertebrae; an upper seating portion of the laminar support member having a saddle configuration that opens upwardly for receiving the laminar region of the upper vertebra; a lower seating portion of the laminar support member having a saddle configuration that opens downwardly opposite to the upwardly opening upper seating portion for receiving the laminar region of the lower vertebra so that the upper and lower seating portions face in opposite directions; a resilient middle portion of the laminar support member having opposite side portions, the resilient middle portion being positioned between the upper and lower seating portions; a through opening extending through the resilient middle portion; and an actuating mechanism having an elongate shaft disposed in the through opening, a first flange coupled to one of the side portions and a second flange coupled to the other of the side portions, the elongate shaft operably coupled to the first and second flanges such that rotation of the elongate shaft in a first direction draws the opposite side portions of the resilient middle portion towards one another while shifting the upper and lower seating portions away from each other in an expanded configuration, and rotation of the elongate shaft in a second direction shifts the opposite side portions of the resilient member away from one another while drawing the upper and lower seating portions towards each other in a compressed configuration, wherein the through opening changes configuration and the upper and lower seating portions remain facing in the same opposite directions as the actuating mechanism is operated to shift the upper and lower seating portions between the expanded and compressed configurations.