Interbody fusion device with lipped anterior plate and associated methods

A method of fusing adjacent vertebrae, comprising:

• providing a spinal fusion device which comprises:
• a U-shaped fusion component having two free ends and configured to have a zero profile when positioned between two adjacent vertebrae, the U-shaped fusion component having a hollow center portion between the two free ends that is configured to receive a material to enhance spinal fusion;
• an anterior plate comprising:
• a body;
• a solitary upper lip portion extending from the body and offset toward a first side of the anterior plate;
• a solitary lower lip portion extending from the body and offset towards the first side of the anterior plate;
• a single first angled bore extending through both the body and the solitary upper lip portion;
• and
• a single second angled bore extending through both the body and the solitary lower lip portion;
• a first fastener and a second fastener, the first and second fasteners configured to couple to the single first and second angled bores, respectively;
• wherein the anterior plate is configured to have zero profile on approximately one half of the anterior plate and to couple to the U-shaped fusion component;
• and
• wherein a second side of the anterior plate that does not include the single angled bores has a height that is less than the height of the U-shaped fusion component so that the second side does not bear a load from a vertebra above the spinal fusion device and a vertebra below the spinal fusion device;
• inserting the U-shaped fusion component between two adjacent vertebrae;
• coupling the anterior plate to the U-shaped fusion component;
• and
• driving the first and second fasteners into the vertebrae through the single first and single second angled bores, respectively, to secure the anterior plate to the U-shaped fusion component and to pull the vertebrae toward the anterior plate and the spinal fusion device.