Patent ID: 7445637

Claim:
A system for stabilizing a pair of adjacent vertebrae, comprising: a posterior implant for positioning between an upper spinous process and a lower spinous process of the adjacent vertebrae, the posterior implant comprising: a inter-spinous portion having an upper surface for engagement with the upper spinous process and a lower surface for engagement with the lower spinous process, the inter-spinous portion having a thickness between the upper surface and the lower surface sufficient to restore anatomical tension to a supra-spinous posterior ligament extending between the upper and lower spinous processes, an upper pair of lugs extending from the inter-spinous portion for interfacing with the upper spinous process, and a lower pair of lugs extending from the inter-spinous portion in a direction substantially opposite from the upper pair of lugs, the lower pair of lugs for interfacing with the lower spinous process, wherein at least one of the upper lugs and at least one of the lower lugs is movable between an insertion configuration and an implantation configuration, where the insertion configuration for the at least one of the upper and lower lugs is substantially perpendicular to the implantation configuration; wherein the posterior implant comprises a flexible, resilient material to allow motion between the adjacent vertebrae and to allow the at least one of the upper and lower lugs to resiliently return to the implantation configuration from the implantation configuration; a removable clip for engagement with the at least one of the upper and lower lugs to selectively maintain the at least one of the upper and lower lugs in the insertion configuration; and an anterior implant for positioning within a disc space between the adjacent vertebrae, the anterior implant having a thickness between an upper surface and a lower surface to restore anatomical tension to an anterior vertebral ligament extending between the pair of adjacent vertebrae.