Patent ID: 8092498

Claim:
A surgical implant assembly for securing a fixation rod and capable of being secured to a bone structure, comprising: at least two separate rigid structures configured to be secured to the bone structure, each having: a distal portion configured to receive a portion of the fixation rod therebetween; an outwardly facing tab positioned at a distal point of the distal portion; a screw compression nut and a distal expansion member coupled to the screw compression nut, wherein a combination of the screw compression nut and the distal expansion member is configured to be driven down the at least two rigid structures and further configured to expand the distal portion of the at least two rigid structures and outwardly facing tabs apart; and a rod compression nut and a proximal expansion member coupled to the rod compression nut, wherein a combination of the rod compression nut and the proximal expansion member is configured to engage the two rigid structures so that the fixation rod is disposed between the combination of the screw compression nut and the distal expansion member and the combination of the rod compression nut and the proximal expansion member.