Patent ID: 8632593

Claim:
A spinal device comprising: a first bone contacting section having a first surface conformable to a surface of a first bone; a second bone contacting section having a second surface conformable to a surface of a second bone; an expandable element positionable between said first and second bone contacting sections, the expandable element having an inlet port through which a filling medium may be passed into said expandable element under a filling pressure sufficient to expand and increase a dimension of said expandable element along an axis extending between the first bone and the second bone; at least one pawl extending from at least one of said tarst or second bone contacting sections; and at least one ratchet extending from said expandable element, said at least one ratchet passable past and engageable with said at least one pawl when said expandable element is expanded by pressure, wherein at least one of the first bone contacting section or the second bone contacting section changes shape as filling medium is passed into the device, wherein the spinal device further comprises a throughbore that extends through the device from the first bone contacting section to the second bone contacting section, wherein the throughbore is formed by a flexible sidewall.