Methods and apparatus for providing correction of one or more maladies or conditions of the spinal column of a living being. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes an implantable device configured to be selectively adjustable in one or more portions thereof so as to permit correction of asymmetries or irregularities of the spinal column via insertion into one or more affected intervertebral disc spaces. In one variant, the implantable device includes upper and lower host elements which are hinged or can pivot relative to one another, and an insertable distraction mechanism which is adjustable to enable one side or the other of the implantable device to alter height. In another variant, both sides of the implantable device can be adjusted for height via the host elements and one or more pivots or hinges. In one implementation, the distraction mechanism is adjustable from multiple approaches into the disc space.

A vertebral implant device is described comprising a wedge, a plate having an external surface configuration and one or more plate tine, a staple having one or more staple tine and a coupling device. The coupling devices is configured to couple the wedge, the plate and the staple whereby when the vertebral implant is secured in a vertebral body, the external surface configuration of the plate alters the relative orientation of a superior endplate surface plane and an inferior endplate surface plane of the vertebral body and alters the alignment of the spine. In some embodiments, plate tines and staple tine are configured to frictionally engage the vertebral body. In some embodiments, the coupling device is a screw and a nut. In some embodiments, interchangeable wedges are used to provide multiple implant device configurations.

An intervertebral fusion implant for fusion of adjacent vertebrae, includes a main body having a first leg, a second leg, and an intermediate articulated joint, a pivoting blade is rotatably attached to the first leg, a guiding trough that includes two lateral side walls and two end-faces, one being stationary and one being movable and formed by a traveller movable along the guiding trough to vary its distance to the stationary end-face, the traveller being rotatably attached to the other end of the pivoting blade, wherein an attachment device is provided at the stationary end-face, and a second attachment device is provided at the traveller, which includes an aperture for passage of the holding instrument, wherein a lifting mechanism includes a lifting plate adjustable between retracted and raised states, the lifting plate being spaced from a top surface of the legs and forming a bearing for an adjacent vertebrae end-plate.

An adjustable implant includes a telescopic body with first and second portions in sliding engagement, and a deflectable linkage formed from a first linking segment, an intermediate segment and a second linking segment pivotally interconnected so that adjustment of a length of the telescopic body causes a corresponding deflection of the deflectable linkage. The first linking segment and the second linking segment are formed with projecting features that provide a partial gear engagement between the first and second linking segments such that, during adjustment of a length of the telescopic body and corresponding deflection of the deflectable linkage, pivotal motion of the first and second linking segments relative to the intermediate segment about the first and second pivot axes occurs in a fixed ratio defined by the partial gear engagement.

An expandable interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The interbody spacer includes a housing, a top endplate and a bottom endplate. An actuator is located inside the housing between the top and bottom endplates. A locking screw is configured to drive the actuator and move the endplates between collapsed and expanded configurations. Variations of the expandable spacer are provided in which the endplates move bilaterally outwardly into uniform and parallel expansion along the latitudinal axis, the endplates angulate about a pivot point along a longitudinal axis such that the distal end of the spacer increases in height relative to the proximal end, and the endplates angulate about a pivot along a lateral axis such that the height along one lateral side of the spacer increases in height relative to the other lateral side.

An expandable fusion device may include a first endplate and a second endplate. The expandable fusion device may also include first and second ramps configured to mate with both the first and second endplates. The first ramp may include a mating feature having a first angle relative to a vertical axis, and the second ramp may include a mating feature having a second angle relative to the vertical axis such that the first angle is different from the second angle. In particular, the first and second ramps may be configured to provide for symmetrical expansion of the first and second endplates.

An expandable spinal fusion implant including a housing, upper and lower endplates, a wedge positioned within the housing and between the upper and lower endplates and a drive mechanism to urge the wedge distally between the upper and lower endplates to increase the separation between the endplates and expand the overall height of the distal end of the implant.

The technical description relates to expandable spinal cages. An example expandable spinal cage is configured to engage a vertebra. An example expandable spinal cage includes a fixed member a lifting member, a driving member, and a locking member. An example expandable spinal cage has a first configuration and a second configuration.

A spinal implant for placement between vertebral bodies includes a first member for engaging one of the vertebral bodies, a second member for engaging an opposing one of the vertebral bodies, and at least one extendable support element for inducing movement of the entire first member away from the second member. The first member is connected to the second member such that the first member moves away from the second member by a larger distance at a first end of the implant than at a second end of the implant. A connecting member may connect the first and second members together at the second end of the implant. The connecting member may include one or more rotatable linkages, or the connecting member may be an extension of one of the first and second members slidably received within a track defined within the other of the first and second members.

An orthopaedic joint replacement system is shown and described. The system includes a number of prosthetic components configured to be implanted into a patient's knee. The system also includes a number of surgical instruments configured for use in preparing the bones of the patient's knee to receive the implants. A method or technique for using the surgical instruments to prepare the bones is also disclosed.