Patent ID: 8246624

Claim:
A rod insertion system comprising: a bone anchor comprising a collar with a slot to receive a rod; a sleeve coupled to the collar having a channel in a side open to the slot, the sleeve comprising one or more engaging surfaces next to the channel; a spinal stabilization rod; a rod insertion tool comprising: an outer body defining a passage; a pivot rod translatable in the passage of the outer body; a rod retaining member sized to fit at least partially through the channel in the side of the sleeve and engaged to an end portion of the spinal stabilization rod, the rod retaining member coupled to the outer body and rotatable relative the outer body about an axis of rotation, the rod retaining member comprising: a stopping feature sized to contact the one or more engaging surfaces of the sleeve, the stopping feature including an extension that is wider than the channel and positioned to allow the rod retaining member to fit at least partially through the channel in the side of the sleeve when the rod retaining member is in a first orientation and maintain the rod retaining member in a position relative to the collar so that the end portion of the spinal stabilization rod passes outside of the collar when the rod retaining member is in a second orientation; a linkage coupled to the rod retaining member and an end portion of the pivot rod so that the rod retaining member rotates about the axis of rotation when the pivot rod translates relative to the outer body; wherein the rod insertion tool only engages the spinal stabilization rod at the end portion of the spinal stabilization rod.