Patent ID: 8721690

Claim:
An elongated rod-shaped implant element for connecting at least two bone anchoring elements, each of which comprise an anchoring section to be anchored in the bone and a receiver member to be connected to the rod-shaped implant element, the elongated rod-shaped implant element comprising: a longitudinal axis and an outer surface; a first length of a rigid section extending along the longitudinal axis that is configured to cooperate with and be received in a receiver member; a second length of a flexible section extending along the longitudinal axis adjacent to the rigid section, the second length having a helical slotted opening in the outer surface of the rod-shaped implant element, the slot extending radially inward, wherein the rigid section and the flexible section are a continuous one-piece element; and an abutment configured to limit extension of the flexible section relative to the longitudinal axis or to prevent opposing faces of at least a portion of the slot from contacting one another.