Surgical implant
AssigneeBridport-Gundry PLC c/o Pearsalls Implants
InventorsAlan Rory Mor McLeod, Andre Jackowski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A prosthesis for the replacement of an intervertebral disc of the spine comprises a block of an elastomeric material, which is held under compression by an encapsulating textile fabric. A preferred version of the invention (see FIG. 8) has continuations of the encapsulating fabric forming an interdigitation, with the continuation of the upper fabric passing through a hole in the lower fabric and being attached to the lower vertebral body and the continuation of the lower fabric crossing to its fixation site on the upper vertebral body.
Claims30
A disc prosthesis comprising a block of an elastomeric or visco-elastic material which is encapsulated by a textile fabric and in which a flange, suitable for attachment to vertebral bodies, is provided as a fabric continuation of the encapsulating fabric.
A prosthesis comprising an element of elastomeric or visco-elastic material, the element being provided in a retaining fabric and in which a flange, suitable for attachment to vertebral bodies, is provided as a fabric continuation of the retaining fabric.
A prosthesis according to claim 10 in which the element of elastomeric or visco-elastic material is a block having an upper surface, a lower surface, front and back.
A surgical technique for providing a disc prosthesis, the technique comprising removing the natural disc and replacing the disc with a prosthesis, the prosthesis comprising a block of an elastomeric or visco-elastic material which is encapsulated by a textile fabric and in which a flange is provided as a fabric continuation of the encapsulating fabric, the flange being attached to one or more vertebral bodies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.