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US 7,837,713 B2Granted
Methods and surgical kits for minimally-invasive facet joint fusion
AssigneeminSURG International, Inc.
InventorDavid A. Petersen
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AssigneeminSURG International, Inc.
InventorDavid A. Petersen
Estimating the term…
Disclosed herein are methods and surgical kits that can be used to fuse facet joints via a minimally invasive procedure (including an arthroscopic or percutaneous procedure). An exemplary method includes creating an incision; locating a facet joint with a distal end of a pin; sliding a substantially hollow drill guide over said pin wherein said drill guide comprises a proximal end, a distal end; removing said pin from within said drill guide; inserting a drill bit into said drill guide; drilling a hole into a bone of said facet joint; removing said drill bit; inserting a facet joint bone plug into said hole using a bone plug inserter having a raised portion at or near is proximal end, wherein said raised portion prevents over-insertion of said bone plug; and removing said drill guide.
A method comprising:
A method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Specially adapted for particular parts of the body: for the spine
Devices acting on, attached to, or simulating the effect of, vertebral processes, vertebral facets or ribs ; Tools for such devices: devices…
For the spine, e.g. vertebrae or spinal discs: for apophyseal or facet joints, i.e. between adjacent spinous or transverse processes
For insertion or extraction of endoprosthetic joints or of accessories thereof: of spinal prostheses
Term ended 10 Apr 2025 (estimated)
The present invention relates to methods and surgical kits that can be used to fuse facet joints through minimally invasive procedures.
In the United States, about 10% of the population will suffer from back pain sometime in the next year. This occurrence is more than any other injury or disease except for the common cold and flu. About one-third of those suffering from back pain will not recover and will live with persistent, disabling symptoms. These numbers are cumulative year after year.
One root cause of back pain, particularly the persistent and disabling kind, is problems (including arthritis) with facet joints. The back of each vertebra has two sets of facet joints. One pair faces upward and the other pair faces downward. Within each set there is a facet joint on the left side of each vertebra and a facet joint on the right side of each vertebra.
FIG. 1 shows facet joint location with surgical pins.
FIG. 2 shows an alternative view of facet joint location with surgical pins.
FIGS. 3-5 depict insertion of a drill guide directly over a surgical pin without the use of a spatula.
It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular methodologies, protocols, systems and methods, etc., described herein, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For instance, a reference to a surgical kit refers to one or more surgical kits and a reference to “a method” is a reference to one or more methods and includes equivalents thereof known to those of ordinary skill in the art and so forth.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Specific methods, devices, systems and materials are described, although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention.
Back pain is a prevalent problem in the United States. One root cause of back pain, particularly the persistent and disabling kind, is problems with facet joints. Each vertebra has two sets of facet joints. One pair faces upward and the other pair faces downward. Within each set there is a facet joint on the left side of each vertebra and a facet joint on the right side of each vertebra.