Patent ID: 8435242

Claim:
A method of performing spinal surgery comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a surgical instrument having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, top and bottom surfaces each with rasp teeth, a first portion, and a second portion, wherein the first portion and the second portion are longitudinally offset from each other, a section of the proximal end of the first portion is connected to a section of the distal end of the second portion, the first portion is generally D-shaped in a transverse cross-section, the second portion has a generally rectangular-shaped body and includes an access portion extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the instrument and extending through the body of the second portion, and the first portion and the second portion each have a substantially equivalent width along the transverse axis of the surgical instrument; (b) exposing the spine and identifying the center of at least one target vertebral disc; (c) removing the anterior annulus of the at least one vertebral disc and performing at least a partial discectomy, thus creating at least one inter-vertebral cavity; (d) removing a sufficient amount of spinal endplate cartilage to expose underlying bone; (e) distracting at least one inter-vertebral cavity; (f) using the first portion of the surgical instrument to prepare at least one of the posterior-lateral and anterior-lateral regions of one or more spinal endplates; and (g) providing a reamer through the access portion of the second portion of the surgical instrument to further prepare the one or more spinal endplates.