Patent ID: 8435265

Claim:
A laminoplasty implant, comprising: an elongate body having a first elongate plate having only two fastener holes formed therein and configured to receive fasteners to mate the first elongate plate to a first location on a vertebra, the only two fastener holes in the first elongate plate defining a first axis, a second elongate plate having only two fastener holes formed therein and configured to receive fasteners to mate the second elongate plate to a second location on a vertebra, the only two fastener holes in the second elongate plate defining a second axis, the second axis extending substantially perpendicular to the first axis, and a deformable portion coupled to, integrally formed with, and extending between the first and second elongate plates, the deformable portion having a first portion extending along a third axis that extends transverse to the first and second axes, and a second portion extending along a fourth axis that extends transverse to the first, second, and third axes, the first portion and the second portion abutting at a bend which defines an apex, and the deformable portion having an unexpanded configuration in which the first and second elongate plates are a distance apart from one another, and the deformable portion being configured to be deformed into an expanded configuration in which the distance between the first and second elongate plates is increased such that a gap is created in a cut bone, the deformable portion being configured to maintain the first and second elongate plates at a fixed distance apart when the deformable portion is in the expanded configuration, wherein the bend defining the apex is present in both the expanded and unexpanded configurations, wherein entireties of the first elongate plate, the second elongate plate, the apex all of the fastener holes, and the deformable portions all lie in substantially the same plane in the unexpanded configuration the elongate body further comprising a first feature formed between the two fastener holes of the first elongate plate and the deformable portion and a second feature formed between the two fastener holes of second elongate plate and the deformable portion, the first and second features are notches recessed into the outer perimeter of the first and second elongate plates, respectively, and the first and second features face one another such that a tool having first and second jaws that pivot relative to one another can be positioned in the first and second features to apply a force to the first and second elongate plates to move the deformable portion to the expanded configuration, wherein the first feature is located on the first axis and the second feature is offset from the second axis.