Patent ID: 7632312

Claim:
A prosthetic lumbar disc adapted to be inserted into a disc cavity, said disc cavity having an annulus and vertebral plates along a substantially horizontal plane of a disc cavity, comprising: A. a pair of separate, independent bean shaped implants consisting of a first bean shaped implant and a second bean shaped implant, each of said first and second independent bean shaped implants comprising a bone contacting surface and an annulus contacting surface and each implant being flexible and having a varying thickness according to the natural contour of the annulus and vertebral plates, whereby each of said first and second independent bean shaped implants have a first end which is opposite to a contralateral first end and a second end which is opposite to a contralateral second end and are adapted, after being inserted into a disc cavity, for being distant from each other, such that each of said separate independent bean shaped implants are at opposite ends of the vertebral body, so as to define: free spaces extending between the first end of the first bean shaped implant and the first end of the second bean shaped implant located adjacent to the first end of the first bean shaped implant and extending between the second end of the first bean shaped implant and the second end of the second bean shaped implant located adjacent to the second end of the first bean shaped implant, and a disc space; and B. a nucleus comprising a midline inflatable implant which is insertable into the disc space defined between the first and the second independent bean shaped implants after being inserted into the disc cavity, through a free space extending between ends of the pair of independent bean shaped implants, said nucleus after being inserted into the disc space and after being inflated, being adapted for completely filling the space between the first and the second bean shape implant, and locking the first and second bean shaped implants in place in the lateral aspects of the disc cavity to form a prosthetic disc.