Patent ID: 8048076

Claim:
A method for stabilizing at least two adjacent vertebral bodies in the cervical human spine, comprising: providing a plate system adapted to be applied to the anterior aspects of an anterior human cervical spine for contacting the anterior aspects of at least two cervical vertebral bodies to be fused together, the plate system having at least a first vertebral body engaging anchor adapted to be attached to one of the adjacent vertebral bodies to be fused and at least a second vertebral body engaging anchor adapted to be attached to another one of the adjacent vertebral bodies to be fused, a connecting plate configured to connect the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors, and at least two fasteners, each of the fasteners adapted to couple together the connecting plate and one of the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors; inserting at least two bone screws through the first vertebral body engaging anchor of the plate system and into one of the vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space to be fused; inserting at least two bone screws through the second vertebral body engaging anchor and into the other of the vertebral bodies adjacent the disc space to be fused; connecting the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors with the connecting plate, the connecting plate overlapping at least a portion of each of said first and second vertebral body engaging anchors; fastening together said connecting plate and the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors with at least two fasteners, each of the fasteners being tightened to and being in a fixed position relative to only one of the connecting plate and the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors without each fastener protruding above the connecting plate; and with the fasteners being in the fixed position relative to only one of the connecting plate and the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors without the fasteners protruding above the connecting plate, permitting movement of the first and second vertebral body engaging anchors attached to the adjacent vertebral bodies relative to the connecting plate and relative to one another.