Patent ID: 7232441

Claim:
A spinal rod assembly comprising a rod and an attachment plate having at least one rod anchor which is a U-shaped member having two upright legs that define a rod-receiving channel, the rod-receiving channel having an outwardly extending side plate, the attachment plate having a bridge area defining a plane and the attachment plate further including a first flange and a second flange, the first flange being attached to a first leg which is offset from the bridge area and the first flange being offset from the first leg; and a second flange being attached to a second leg which is offset from the bridge area and the second flange being offset from the second leg, each flange including one of the rod anchors and each flange defining a flange plane and neither flange plane being co-planar with the plane of the bridge member and each of the first and the second flange includes a recess which retains the side plate of the rod-receiving channel and the flange having a high friction surface which directly contacts the rod when the rod is in the rod-receiving channel.