Patent ID: 8303601

Claim:
A device for inserting and removing a distraction wedge, said device comprising: an outer member having a handle and an outer shaft, said outer shaft extending from said handle along a central axis from a proximal end of said outer member to a distal end of said outer member, said handle having a bore, the bore being in-line with said central axis, at least a portion of said bore being internally threaded, said outer shaft having at least one collet formed between a pair of slots extending from said distal end of said outer shaft toward said handle, said at least one collet having a cammed surface on an interior surface thereof and a shoulder extending from an outer surface thereof, said at least one collet further including a free end at said distal end of said shaft and a fixed end toward said proximal end of said shaft, said fixed end formed at a proximal limit of said slots, wherein the shoulder is located proximal of the free end along the central axis, wherein said shoulder extends further from the central axis than any other portion of the outer surface of the collet; an inner member having a roller and a rod, said rod extending from said roller along a central axis from a proximal end of said inner member to a head formed at a distal end of said inner member, the roller fitting at least partially within said handle, said rod having a threaded portion configured to mate with said internally threaded portion of said handle such that threading of said rod into said handle serves to advance said rod within said outer member toward the distal end of said outer member, whereby said rod is long enough with respect to said outer shaft that said head interferes with said cammed surface of said at least one collet to bend said at least one collet outwardly in a radial direction from said central axis of said outer member.