Patent ID: 7223278

Claim:
A device suitable for providing access through an incision in the skin of a patient to a spinal location within the patient, said device comprising: an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end sized and adapted for insertion through the incision in the skin and to provide access through the incision to the spinal location, the proximal and distal ends defining a length between the proximal and distal ends such that the proximal end can be positioned outside the patient and the distal end can be positioned inside the patient adjacent the spinal location; the elongate body being expandable such that a transverse dimension at a first location is greater than a transverse dimension at a second location, wherein the first location is distal to the second location; wherein the elongate body provides an access path through the incision to the spinal location, the access path sized such that more than one surgical instrument can be advanced simultaneously along the access path between the proximal end and the spinal location; the elongate body further comprising a first side and a second side, wherein the access path is defined between the first and second sides; and an expander comprising a first pivoting member coupled with the first side of the elongate body and a second pivoting member coupled with the second side of the elongate body, the second side being opposite the first side, the expander configured to expand the elongate body such that the transverse dimension extending between the first and second sides of the elongate body at the first location is greater than the transverse dimension extending between the first and second sides of the elongate body at the second location, wherein the first location is distal to the second location.