Craniospinal fusion method and apparatus

A system for surgical fusion of a cranio-cervical junction, comprising:

• an article for use in the surgical fusion of the cranio-cervical junction, wherein the article comprises:
• a plate member having a contour adapted to conform to a portion of a cranium, wherein the plate member comprises:
• an outer plate surface;
• an inner plate surface that is adapted to be secured to the cranium;
• and
• a flange defined in and encompassed by the plate member, wherein the flange arises from a portion of the plate member and forms a concave enclosure within the plate member that defines a graft accommodation space between a concave inner flange surface and the cranium when the plate member is secured to the cranium, the graft accommodation space being defined in part by an outer flange edge that is elevated with respect to a portion of the inner plate surface when the inner plate surface contacts the cranium so that the graft accommodation space is open to a space outside of the graft accommodation space, wherein the concave enclosure of the flange is configured to laterally constrain a bone material based member within the graft accommodation space and position the bone material based member in close union with the cranium so as to apply a sufficient amount of pressure to the bone material based member to facilitate morphogenesis, whereby the bone material based member may be positioned within the graft accommodation space so as to be fused to the cranium and to extend away from the plate member, and
• wherein the flange includes a plurality of perforations defined therethrough and configured to promote bone growth;
• and
• wherein the plate member is capable of being attached to a spinal rod member to facilitate fusion of the cranio-cervical junction.