Patent ID: 8636778

Claim:
A method of securing an elongate member to a vertebra, the method comprising, in any order: disposing a head of an anchor member in a lower yoke member so that a head portion of the anchor member is seated against an interior surface of the lower yoke member and a body portion of the anchor member extends through an opening in the lower yoke member; rotatably coupling the lower yoke member to an upper yoke member at a rotatable coupling therebetween; securing the anchor member to a surface of a vertebra; pivoting the lower yoke member to position the lower yoke member with respect to the anchor member; rotating the upper yoke member relative to the lower yoke member so that the upper yoke member is at a desired rotational position with respect to the lower yoke member; positioning an insert member within the upper and lower yoke members with lower flexible portions of the insert member engaged against the head of the anchor member; disposing an elongate member in a channel of the upper yoke member so that the elongate member is positioned at the second angle with respect to the body of the anchor member; and inserting a lock member into the upper yoke member and locking the lock member in place such that locking of the lock member within the upper yoke member fixes the position of the elongate member relative to the upper yoke member, fixes the rotational position of the upper yoke member relative to the lower yoke member, fixes the position of the lower yoke member relative to the anchor member, and urges the insert member lower flexible portions to flex radially outward into tight engagement with one of the upper and lower yoke members at the rotatable coupling therebetween, wherein a single instrument is used to perform the steps of pivoting the lower yoke member with respect to the anchor member and rotating the upper yoke member relative to the lower yoke member.