Patent ID: 7628800

Claim:
A method of implanting a corpectomy device comprising: providing a balloon having an inflated configuration sized to fill a space between a first vertebra and a non-adjacent second vertebra and a deflated configuration sized for minimally invasive insertion into the space between the first and second vertebrae; providing a hardenable media for introduction into the balloon; performing a minimally-invasive corpectomy procedure on a third vertebra positioned between the first and second vertebrae to create the space between the first and second vertebrae; introducing the balloon in the deflated configuration into the space between the first and second vertebrae via a minimally invasive approach; inserting the hardenable media into the balloon to inflate the balloon to the inflated configuration via a minimally invasive approach; hardening the hardenable media within the balloon to form a rigid support structure between the first and second vertebrae to stabilize the first and second vertebrae; and inserting a bone graft into the space; wherein introducing the balloon into the space comprises inserting the balloon into the bone graft.