Patent ID: 8267998

Claim:
An operating instrument for a height-adjustable implant for insertion between vertebral bodies, the implant having two sleeve parts that are axially displaceable relative to one another and that enclose an interior space, and a nut disposed in the interior space and configured to axially displace one of the sleeve parts relative to the other sleeve part and carrying a toothed ring, the operating instrument comprising: a handgrip and a shaft extending through said handgrip, said shaft having one end carrying a rotary grip and another end carrying a toothed wheel for rotational actuation of the nut in the interior space of the implant; a jacket tube having a distal end affixed to said handgrip and a proximal end in proximity of said toothed wheel, said proximal end of said jacket tube having an external thread formed thereon, said thread being configured for meshing with an inner thread of the access opening of the implant; a segment of said shaft extending between said toothed wheel and said handgrip extends through said jacket tube; said proximal end of said jacket tube being configured for fixation at an access opening of the implant; and said toothed wheel having teeth projecting axially out of said proximal end of said jacket tube.