Patent ID: 8172853

Claim:
A surgical instrument set for use in spinal surgery for forming a substantially quadrilateral space in the spine for implanting a spinal implant into a disc space between adjacent vertebral bodies, said surgical instrument set comprising: a guard having an opening for providing protected access to the disc space and the adjacent surfaces of the vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space, said guard having a proximal end, a distal end, and having a disc penetrating extension extending from said distal end of said guard for insertion into the disc space between the adjacent vertebral bodies, said disc penetrating extension being oriented in a fixed position relative to a central longitudinal axis through said guard and having a portion for bearing against the adjacent vertebral endplates of the adjacent vertebral bodies, said portion of said disc penetrating extension having opposed upper and lower surfaces adapted to bear against each of the adjacent vertebral endplates, respectively, from within the disc space to align the adjacent vertebral bodies, said opening having a minimum cross-sectional dimension perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis, said disc penetrating extension having a maximum height from said upper surface to said lower surface that is greater than a majority of the minimum cross-sectional dimension of said opening; and a guide for guiding a bone removal device, said guide having a central longitudinal axis and a shaft adapted to be inserted into said guard, said guide having a perimeter and being configured to guide the formation of a substantially quadrilateral space across the height of the disc space and into the adjacent surfaces of the adjacent vertebral bodies, said guide including a first guide bore having a maximum dimension transverse to and overlapping the central longitudinal axis of said guide, said first guide bore being sized and oriented within said guide to guide the formation of a bore substantially contacting three sides of the substantially quadrilateral space to be formed, said guide including at least a second guide bore having a maximum dimension transverse to the central longitudinal axis of said guide being less than the maximum transverse dimension of said first guide bore, said second guide bore being located between said first guide bore and the perimeter of said guide, said second guide bore being sized and oriented within said guide to guide the formation of a bore substantially contacting two adjacent skies of the substantially quadrilateral space to be formed.