Patent ID: 7993340

Claim:
A method for preparing endplates of adjacent vertebrae for insertion of an implant in a disc space between the adjacent vertebrae, comprising: accessing the disc space through a housing assembly that extends along an axis that extends generally in an anterior oblique direction relative to a sagittal plane of the adjacent vertebrae; positioning a cutting instrument that extends along a longitudinal axis through a depth tube with a distal end of the depth tube in contact with a guide surface recessed in a proximal face of the housing assembly and the guide surface extends along a slot that extends through the housing assembly, the cutting instrument further extending distally from the depth tube through the slot and into the disc space; linking the depth tube to the housing assembly with a guide member; and milling at least one endplate in side-to-side movement along a cutting path defined by the guide surface with the guide surface having at least a portion obliquely oriented to the longitudinal axis so that the obliquely oriented portion extends proximally toward the proximal face of the housing assembly as it approaches one side of the housing assembly, wherein as the guide member moves along the proximal face of the housing assembly the depth tube moves along the obliquely oriented portion of the guide surface and proximally relative to the guide member to direct the cutting instrument proximally in the disc space along a portion of the cutting path obliquely oriented to the longitudinal axis.