Tissue protector and method of use
AssigneeAmendia, Inc.
InventorZsolt Csernatoni
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Abstract
A tissue protector has a body structure having a longitudinal extending thin web. The body structure has an unconstrained first shape configured to form a nerve shield and is configured to shrink about a longitudinal axis to a smaller constrained second shape sized to fit into a lumen of a cannula. Preferably, the second constrained shape is oval or round having a maximum diameter equal or less than an inside diameter of the lumen. The body structure is configured to return to the first shape when the cannula is withdrawn or returned to this shape as the implant advances.
Claims15
A method of shielding a nerve root during a spinal surgical procedure comprises the steps of:
- making an incision;
- inserting a cannula between or just above two adjacent vertebral bodies, wherein the cannula has a tissue protector constrained inside the lumen of the cannula;
- positioning the distal end of the cannula past or beside a nerve root;
- withdrawing the cannula while holding the tissue protector in position past or beside the nerve root;
- and
- freeing the tissue protector allowing movement from a constrained shape to an unconstrained shape to protect and shield the nerve root.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.