Patent ID: 7887568

Claim:
A method for the distraction of two tissue surfaces separated by a space in a given direction within a spine, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of elongated inserts composed of biocompatible material, each elongated insert having a top surface having a first leading edge and a first trailing edge, a bottom surface including a second leading edge and a second trailing edge, first and second side surfaces extending between said top and bottom surfaces, and a planar beveled surface extending between said first and second leading edges, said beveled surface configured to facilitate the successive stacking of said inserts to distract said two tissue surfaces in said given direction during consecutive insertion into said spine, each of said inserts having a length dimension defined by the distance between one of said first and second leading edges and the corresponding one of said first and second trailing edges, a width dimension defined by the distance between said first and second side surfaces, and a height dimension defined by the distance between said top and bottom surfaces, at least one of said inserts having a solid cross-section taken along a plane generally parallel to at least one of said top and bottom surfaces, such that said length dimension is greater than said width dimension; and (b) individually advancing each of said plurality of elongated inserts one at a time into said space such that said elongated inserts are consecutively stacked upon one another within the spine, and such that the bottom surface of a first of said plurality of elongated inserts is received within the top surface of a second of said plurality of elongated inserts to form a structure extending in a given direction within the spine.