Patent ID: 7879098

Claim:
An expandable stabilizing cage for insertion into the intervertebral disc space of a patient for establishing and maintaining a desired lordosis, said expandable stabilizing cage comprising: a body having a fixed cage section, an expandable cage section and a relief between said fixed cage section and said expandable cage section, said expandable cage section comprising an upper pair of elongate blocks projecting from said fixed cage section and a lower pair of elongate blocks projection from said fixed cage section, each said pair having a left elongate block and a right elongate block, wherein: each one of said upper pair of elongate blocks comprises a substantially planar top surface; each one of said lower pair of elongate blocks comprises a substantially planar bottom surface; said upper pair of elongate blocks is separated from said lower pair of elongate blocks by a first longitudinal slot through said expandable cage section, said first longitudinal slot being positioned in a horizontal plane parallel with said central axis; and said left elongate blocks are separated from said right elongate blocks by a second longitudinal slot through said expandable cage section, said second longitudinal slot being positioned in a vertical plane parallel with said central axis; an orifice through said body, said orifice being coaxial with a central longitudinal axis through said fixed cage section and said expandable cage section of said body; an expansion wafer; and wherein: said relief comprises an annulus formed coaxially about said orifice through said body, said annulus having an outside diameter that is less than the height top to bottom of said expandable cage section and is less than the width side to side of said expandable cage section, wherein: each said elongate block comprises and end face; and each said elongate block interconnects with said fixed cage section at said annulus through a fractional portion of said end face of each respective elongate block; each one of said upper pair of elongate blocks is positioned generally above one of said lower pair of elongate blocks; a portion of said orifice through said expandable cage section is shaped in the form of a frustum of a cone, said portion of said orifice decreasing in diameter with increasing distance from said fixed cage section; and insertion of said expansion wafer into said orifice and from said fixed cage section into and through said expandable cage section causes radially outward flaring of said elongate blocks, said radially outward flaring causing said substantially planar surfaces of said elongate blocks to move nearer the vertebral bodies bounding the intervertebral disc space of the patient.