Patent ID: RE44296

Claim:
A surgical instrument for reducing a rod toward a bone fastener, comprising: a fastener engaging member extending between a proximal end and a distal end, a distal portion of said fastener engaging member being adapted to receive a portion of the rod therein and being further adapted to engage the bone fastener; a reducing member movably disposed about said fastener engaging member, said reducing member having a distal end and a longitudinal axis oriented in its direction of movement ; and an actuator assembly pivotally coupled to said fastener engaging member and pivotally coupled to said reducing member, said actuator comprising a first arm and a second arm, wherein said actuator assembly is operable to move said reducing member distally with respect to said fastener engaging member when proximal ends of said first and second arms are biased together, whereby , with biasing together of said first and second arms, said distal end of said reducing member contacts the rod to move the rod distally, relative to said fastener engaging member, toward the bone fastener , wherein a plane along which said first and second arms move is offset from the longitudinal axis .