Patent ID: 7828846

Claim:
A space keeper constructed as a prosthetic for vertebrae or intervertebral disks comprising: a tube having a first end, a second end and an outer wall, and having a longitudinal axis extending from the first end to the second end and a bore extending along the longitudinal axis through the tube, wherein the outer wall of the tube has a plurality of openings extending transversely through the outer wall to the bore, and wherein a pattern of the plurality of openings is repeated in the outer wall along the longitudinal direction; a base plate connected with the first end of the tube, the base plate having a first section extending past the first end of the tube away from the second end of the tube in the longitudinal direction; a top plate connected with the base plate and configured to engage a vertebral body end plate, wherein the top plate is tiltable relative to the first section of the base plate about an angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube; and an elastic member located between the top plate and the base plate to cushion the prosthetic, wherein the base plate comprises a second section that extends in a direction away from the top plate and that engages with the tube.