US 7,569,054 B2
Tubular member having a passage and opposed bone contacting extensions
Gary Karlin Michelson, Venice, Calif. (US)
Assigned to Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., Warsaw, Ind. (US)
Filed on Nov. 08, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/269,328.
Application 08/482162 is a division of application No. 08/396414, filed on Feb. 27, 1995, granted, now 6,080,155.
Application 11/269328 is a continuation of application No. 09/497590, filed on Jun. 06, 2000, granted, now 7,431,722.
Application 09/497590 is a continuation of application No. 08/482162, filed on Jun. 07, 1995, granted, now 6,270,498.
Prior Publication US 2006/0084992 A1, Apr. 20, 2006
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61B 17/56 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 606—60  [606/246] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for use in human surgery, comprising:
a tubular member having a proximal end, a distal end opposite said proximal end, a passage for providing protected access to a surgical site from said proximal end to said distal end, and a mid-longitudinal axis through said proximal and distal ends, said passage having a minimum width transverse to the mid-longitudinal axis; and
at least two opposed extensions extending from said distal end of said tubular member, said extensions each having a length and a maximum height perpendicular to the length, the maximum height of each of said extensions being less than the length of each extension and greater than one-half the minimum width of said passage, each of said extensions having an interior surface at least in part facing the mid-longitudinal axis of said tubular member, said interior surfaces of said extensions being spaced apart from one another along the length of each extension a distance no less than the minimum width of said passage, each of said extensions having opposed bone contacting surfaces configured to contact portions of bone.