Patent ID: 7740633

Claim:
A guide pin assembly for guiding instrumentation along a soft tissue tract to a point on the spine, comprising: a guide pin introducer comprising an introducer handle and a rigid elongate introducer tube extending from the introducer handle, the introducer tube having a introducer tube length extending between an introducer tube proximal end and an introducer tube distal end, the introducer tube length configured to extend from a skin incision near the paracoccygeal region through the pre-sacral space to an anterior target point on a sacral vertebral body, the guide pin introducer defining a lumen having a lumen diameter; a guide pin slideably positionable within the lumen of the guide pin introducer, comprising: a solid elongate rod, having a rod outer diameter less than the guide pin introducer lumen diameter, a rod length extending between a rod proximal end and a rod distal end, the rod length being greater than the introducer tube length; a sharpened tip on the rod distal end; a removable guide pin handle releasably attached to the rod proximal end and configured to allow the guide pin introducer to be proximally withdrawn over the rod proximal end when the guide pin handle is removed from the rod proximal end; a guide pin proximal stop positioned on the guide pin such that the sharpened tip extends distally of the introducer tube distal end; and a rotational alignment guide, for maintaining the guide pin in a predetermined rotational orientation with respect to the guide pin handle; and a blunt tipped stylet having no lumen extending longitudinally therethrough, slideably positionable within the lumen of the guide pin introducer and comprising a blunt tipped stylet outer diameter less than the guide pin introducer lumen diameter and a blunt tipped stylet proximal stop positioned on the blunt tipped stylet such that a distal end of the blunt tipped stylet extends distally of the introducer tube distal end; wherein the blunt tipped stylet outer diameter is substantially the same as the rod outer diameter.