Patent ID: 8864830

Claim:
An apparatus for use in spinal surgery, comprising in combination: a spinal implant comprising a body including an opening at a leading distal end, an opening at a trailing proximal end, a top surface, a bottom surface, a pair of spaced apart side surfaces extending between said top surface and said bottom surface and defining therewithin a hollow interior communicating with said opening at the distal end and said opening at the proximal end, a pair of opposing arms projecting distally from said respective side surfaces and defining therebetween said opening at the distal end, and an engagement surface extending transversely from at least one of said top surface and said bottom surface and lying between said arms; and an inserter extending within said hollow interior, releasably attached to said implant and comprising a distal end and a proximal end, said proximal end extending exteriorly outside said proximal end of said implant body, said distal end of said inserter including a distal tip and a resilient latching surface proximally spaced thereon, said distal tip being expandable and partially disposed within said opening at said distal end of said implant and having a portion extending exteriorly beyond said distal end of said implant, said latching surface being in releasable latched engagement with said engagement surface of said implant body, said distal tip comprising a tapered surface extending proximally along said distal tip, terminating at a location substantially even with one of said top surface and said bottom surface, and a distraction surface projecting exteriorly beyond the distal end of said body for entry between opposing tissue surfaces of a spine.