Spinal Implant System and Method

Abstract

A spinal construct is based on a fixed contour rod and modified bone screws configured to account for different height and angular offsets between the rod and the spinal anatomy. The rod contour is adapted for percutaneous introduction thereby eliminating the need for open spinal surgery for multi-level constructs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A bone screw for fixation in a vertebral body of a spine, comprising:
 an elongated shank having bone engaging threads and defining a longitudinal axis; and   a rod-engaging portion connected to one end of said elongated shank, said rod-engaging portion defining a channel for receiving a spinal rod therein, wherein said channel is defined at a non-perpendicular angle relative to said longitudinal axis of said shank.   
     
     
         2 . The bone screw of  claim 1 , further comprising a set screw threaded into said rod-engaging portion, said set screw including a tip arranged to engage the spinal rod received within said channel to clamp the rod within the rod-engaging portion, wherein said tip is conical and defined at said non-perpendicular angle. 
     
     
         3 . The bone screw of  claim 1 , wherein said non-perpendicular angle is between 5° and 45° measured from a line that is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         4 . A kit for use in forming a spinal construct, comprising a plurality of screws according to  claim 3 , each having said channel defined at a different non-perpendicular angle. 
     
     
         5 . The kit of  claim 4 , wherein said plurality of screws have non-perpendicular angles provided in 5° increments. 
     
     
         6 . A bone screw for fixation in a vertebral body of a spine, comprising:
 an elongated shank having bone engaging threads and defining a longitudinal axis; and   a rod-engaging portion connected to one end of said elongated shank, said rod-engaging portion defining a vertical axis and a channel for receiving a spinal rod therein oriented perpendicular to said vertical axis,   wherein said rod-engaging portion is connected to said elongated shank so that said longitudinal axis is not colinear with said vertical axis.   
     
     
         7 . The bone screw of  claim 6 , further comprising a set screw threaded into said rod-engaging portion to engage the spinal rod received within said channel to clamp the rod within the rod-engaging portion. 
     
     
         8 . The bone screw of  claim 6 , wherein said longitudinal axis is oriented at an angle relative to said vertical axis, wherein said angle is between 5° and 45°. 
     
     
         9 . A kit for use in forming a spinal construct, comprising a plurality of screws according to  claim 8 , each having said angle different from the other screws. 
     
     
         10 . The kit of  claim 9 , wherein said plurality of screws have angles provided in 5° increments. 
     
     
         11 . A bone screw for fixation in a vertebral body of a spine, comprising:
 an elongated shank having bone engaging threads and defining a longitudinal axis;   a rod-engaging portion defining a channel for receiving a spinal rod therein oriented perpendicular to said vertical axis; and   an intermediate portion connecting said rod-engaging portion to said elongated shank, said intermediate portion having a height along said longitudinal axis of at least 0.5 mm.   
     
     
         12 . The bone screw of  claim 11 , further comprising a set screw threaded into said rod-engaging portion to engage the spinal rod received within said channel to clamp the rod within the rod-engaging portion. 
     
     
         13 . The bone screw of  claim 11 , wherein said height is less than 30 mm. 
     
     
         14 . A kit for use in forming a spinal construct, comprising a plurality of screws according to  claim 13 , each having different heights ranging from 0.5 mm to 30 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The kit of  claim 14 , wherein said plurality of screws are provided with heights at 0.5 mm increments. 
     
     
         16 . A kit for forming a spinal construct for correcting a number of vertebral levels of a patient's spine, comprising:
 an elongated rod defining a fixed curved contour adapted for percutaneous introduction along a patient's spine, said fixed curved contour being offset from the patient's spine by different offsets at different vertebral levels; and   a plurality of bone screws having;
 an elongated shank with bone engaging threads and defining a longitudinal axis; and 
 a rod-engaging portion defining a channel for receiving the spinal rod therein, 
 wherein said rod-engaging portion is attached to said elongated shank at different heights along said longitudinal axis, each of said different heights corresponding to each of said different offsets. 
   
     
     
         17 . A kit for forming a spinal construct for correcting a number of vertebral levels of a patient's spine, comprising:
 an elongated rod defining a fixed curved contour adapted for percutaneous introduction along a patient's spine, said fixed curved contour being non-perpendicular relative to an optimum insertion angle for a bone screw into vertebral bodies at different vertebral levels; and   a plurality of bone screws having;
 an elongated shank with bone engaging threads and defining a longitudinal axis; and 
 a rod-engaging portion defining a channel for receiving the spinal rod therein, 
 wherein said elongated shank is attached to said rod-engaging portion at different non-perpendicular angles to align with the optimum insertion angle for a bone screw at each of the different vertebral levels.