Patent ID: 8147527

Claim:
An occipital plate, comprising: a base plate having: an elongated central section with a midline; and a first section and a second section projecting laterally outward in opposite directions from the midline of the base plate, wherein the first section comprises a slot extending substantially parallel to a length of the first section; and an attachment assembly having: a slide member configured to move along the slot of the first section; a post coupled to the slide member, wherein the post has a first cross dimension and a second cross dimension wherein the first cross dimension of the post is less than a first cross dimension of the slide member and wherein the second cross dimension of the post is approximately equal to a second cross dimension of the slide member; and an angle limiting mechanism defining a range of rotation of the attachment assembly, wherein a medial-lateral distance between the attachment assembly and the midline of the base plate is adjustable relative to the angle along the slot of the first section, wherein at least a portion of the attachment assembly is rotatable after the slide member is positioned in the slot and coupled to the base plate, and wherein the angle limiting mechanism facilitates the attachment assembly to self-align or essentially self-align with a rod as the rod is received in an opening of the post of the attachment assembly.