Patent ID: 7998143

Claim:
A guard for use in human spinal surgery, comprising: a body having a leading end, an opposite trailing end, a length between said leading and trailing ends, and a mid-longitudinal axis extending along the length, said body having a first portion and a second portion articulatable relative to one another between an open position and a closed position, said first and second portions having at least in part opposed interior arcuate portions, respectively, said first and second portions of said body defining an opening for providing a protected pathway to adjacent vertebral bodies and a disc space therebetween, said first and second portions of said body being articulatable about an axis of rotation that passes through at least a portion of the pathway, said first and second portions of said body being hinged to one another to afford rotatable articulation thereof about the axis of rotation, said opposed interior arcuate portions of said first and second portions of said body being parallel to one another when said body is in the closed position, said opposed interior arcuate portions of said first and second portions of said body being angled to one another when said body is in the open position, said opening defined by said first and second portions of said body being generally circular when said body is in the closed position, said first and second portions of said body contacting one another adjacent said trailing end when said body is in the closed position, said opening defined by said first and second portions of said body providing an unobstructed passage when said body is in the closed position, said opposed interior arcuate portions being adapted to guide a surgical instrument through said unobstructed passage, said body having an exterior surface that has opposed upper and lower surfaces oriented toward the adjacent vertebral bodies, respectively, said upper and lower surfaces being at least in part arcuate, said exterior surface of said body having opposed side surfaces, said side surfaces being at least in part arcuate, said first and second portions of said body when in the closed position forming a tube.