Patent ID: 7691145

Claim:
A facet joint prosthesis to replace, on a vertebral body, at least a portion of a caudal portion of a natural facet joint, comprising: a support component adapted to span a portion of the vertebral body and to support prosthetic caudal facet elements; and a first prosthetic caudal facet element and a second prosthetic caudal facet element, the first prosthetic caudal facet element being adjustable relative to the support component and adapted to replace at least a portion of the caudal portion of the natural facet joint; and a support fixation element configured to adjustably attach the first prosthetic caudal facet element to the support component such that the first prosthetic caudal facet element is width-adjustable relative to the second prosthetic caudal facet element along the support component.