Patent ID: 7993347

Claim:
An apparatus for use in performing human interbody spinal surgery comprising: a guard having a mid-longitudinal axis, and a first passage and a second passage for providing guided access to a disc space and a vertebral body adjacent the disc space, each of said first and second passages having a proximal end, an opposite distal end, a length from said proximal end to said distal end, and being adapted to receive at least a portion of a spinal implant therethrough, said first and second passages being spaced apart from one another along a majority of their respective lengths, said first and second passages being located on first and second sides, respectively, of a plane bisecting said guard along the mid-longitudinal axis thereof, said first and second passages having first and second cross sections, respectively, in a plane perpendicular to the mid-longitudinal axis, said first and second cross sections of said first and second passages having identical dimensions; a distracting element configured to distract two adjacent vertebral bodies, said distracting element having a blunt leading end, an opposite trailing end, upper and lower load-bearing surfaces between said leading and trailing ends, and a length from said leading end to said trailing end, said distracting element being fixed to a shaft having a portion configured to contact the posterior surfaces of the adjacent vertebral bodies to limit the depth of insertion of said distracting element into the disc space; at least one orientation pin for holding said guard to the spine, said orientation pin having a distal end portion configured to extend parallel to and along a majority of the length of said distracting element when said distracting element and said orientation pin are inserted into the spine; and a bone removal device for forming through each of said passages in turn an implantation space.