Cervical retractor

An anterior cervical refractor for application to an anterior part of cervical spine, comprising:

• a medial-lateral retractor, said medial-lateral retractor comprising:
• a base arm and a first retractor blade, the base arm having a first track and a first blade connector, said first track extending perpendicularly from a proximal end of said base arm, said first track including teeth, wherein said first retractor blade couples to the first blade connector such that the first retractor blade can rotate about a limited range relative to the base arm, and the first blade connector is connected to the base arm by a first pivot piece, the first pivot piece including a pair of first pivots, with one pivot located on each end of the first pivot piece to permit adjustment of the height of the first blade connector relative to said base arm while maintaining the alignment of said first blade connector parallel to said base arm, said first pivot piece further including a first friction mechanism for preventing said first blade connector and said first pivot piece from flopping around, said first friction mechanism including a first spring with a pair of first friction nubs situated at each end, said first friction mechanism provided to create friction between said first pivot piece and said first blade connector;
• and
• a first moving arm and a second retractor blade, said first moving arm including a first track receptacle and a second blade connector, said first track receptacle configured to receive said first track extending from said base arm, said first moving arm being translatable along said first track to increase the distance between the moving arm and base arm and retract tissue in medial and lateral directions with the first and second blades, wherein said second retractor blade couples to the second blade connector such that the second retractor blade can rotate about a limited range relative to the moving arm;
• and
• a cranial-caudal retractor, said cranial-caudal refractor comprising:
• a second track having a plurality of teeth;
• a second moving arm and a third retractor blade, said second moving arm including a second track receptacle and a third blade connector, said second track receptacle configured to receive said second track, wherein said third retractor blade couples to the third blade connector such that the angle of the third retractor blade relative to the third blade connector can be adjusted;
• and
• a third moving arm and a fourth retractor blade, said third moving arm including a third track receptacle and a fourth blade connector, said third track receptacle configured to receive said second track, wherein said fourth retractor blade couples to the fourth blade connector such that the angle of the fourth retractor blade relative to the fourth blade connector can be adjusted, wherein each of the third moving arm and fourth moving arm are independently translatable along the second track to increase the distance between the second and third moving arms and retract tissue in a cranial and caudal directions with the third and fourth retractor blades.