Patent ID: 8900306

Claim:
An anti-expulsion device, comprising: a c-shaped body movable between a compressed configuration in which the body is adapted to fit through an opening in an annulus of a spinal disc with first and second ends of the body being moved toward one another and toward a center of the body, and an expanded configuration in which the body is configured to have a size larger than a size of the opening in the annulus of the spinal disc, and in which the first and second ends are moved away from one another and away from the center of the body, the body in the compressed configuration and in the expanded configuration including a discrete, bulbous mating feature formed on the first and second ends of the body; and a nucleus disc replacement implant that encapsulates the mating feature on the body such that inside the annulus of the spinal disc the body becomes integral with the nucleus disc replacement implant to prevent expulsion of the nucleus disc replacement implant from the annulus of the spinal disc.