Patent ID: 8388662

Claim:
A plating apparatus for the spine, comprising: a plate having a generally triangular shape and having an upper node positionable adjacent an L5 vertebra and a pair of lower nodes positionable adjacent an S1 vertebra, said plate including a posterior face positionable toward the L5 and S1 vertebrae and an opposite anterior face; an upper hole in the plate at the upper node to receive a screw for passage into the L5 vertebra, said upper hole extending through said plate along an axis that orients the screw for passage into the L5 vertebra at a substantial angle relative to a direction perpendicular to said anterior face of said plate and away from said pair of lower nodes when extending from said posterior face; and a first lower hole in the plate formed through one of the lower nodes to receive a screw for passage into the S1 vertebra and a second lower hole in the plate through the other of the lower nodes to receive a screw for passage into the S1 vertebra, said first and second lower holes extending through said plate with a configuration orienting the screws for passage into the S1 vertebra at a substantially perpendicular orientation to said anterior face, wherein said plate has a central hole located between said upper node and said pair of lower nodes and said plate includes a retaining element attachable to said central hole, wherein: said posterior face has a concave profile; said plate includes a protrusion extending from said posterior face adapted to contact an inferior margin of the L5 vertebra; and said lower nodes each have a protrusion at an edge of said plate, said edge and said posterior face being concavely curved between said protrusions of said lower nodes to conform to a profile of an anterior face of the S1 vertebra.