Patent ID: 8425529

Claim:
A surgical tool for inserting and positioning a prosthetic intervertebral spacer in the intervertebral disc space between two adjacent vertebrae, the tool comprising: a grasping portion including first and second arms having proximal and distal ends, the distal ends extending along a proximal-distal axis and being separated along a superior-inferior axis by a first dimension; a sleeve having an inner surface, the sleeve being slidably disposed about the grasping portion, at least a portion of the inner surface having an inner dimension less than the first dimension; a handle portion connected to the proximal ends of the first and second arms, the handle portion having a rod actuator and a sleeve actuator, the sleeve actuator connected to the sleeve to slide the sleeve with respect to the first and second arms; and a rod having a first end disposed adjacent the distal ends of the first and second arms and a second end, the rod actuator connected to the second end, such that actuation of the rod actuator slides the first end of the rod along a proximal-distal path that is laterally adjacent to the distal ends of the first and second arms.