Patent ID: 7862591

Claim:
A prosthetic device, comprising: a monolithic body member comprising: a concave upper surface; a pair of opposing concave side surfaces; a concave lower surface opposite the concave upper surface, the concave lower surface defining a notch sized for non-rigidly receiving a spinous process of a first vertebra; the concave lower surface having two opposing lobes; an upper portion of the body member, disposed proximate the concave upper surface and having a pair of through openings extending therethrough, each of the through openings positioned adjacent an upper corner of the body member such that when the spinous process of the first vertebra is received within the notch defined by concave lower surface the pair of through openings are substantially aligned with an adjacent second vertebra such that bone anchors may be inserted through the through openings to rigidly secure the body member to the second vertebra; a lower portion of the body member, disposed proximate the notch, being devoid of through openings; wherein a first theoretical axis extends through centers of the pair of through openings; wherein a second theoretical axis extending substantially normal to the first theoretical axis bisects a distance between the pair of through openings into two equal lengths and extends through the notch; wherein each of the two opposing lobes includes a centerline that extends in a direction from a base to a tip of the lobe; wherein the base of each lobe is disposed more proximate to the through openings and the tip of each lobe is disposed more distal to the through openings; the centerlines of two opposing lobes extending in diverging directions.