An adjustable vertebral body replacement implant and assembly includes a thin-walled cylindrical body configured to span over most of the length between intact vertebrae when damaged or diseased vertebrae have been removed. The cylindrical body defines a hollow interior and includes endplates with end surfaces configured to contact the adjacent vertebra and to engage the cylindrical body therebetween. Said end surface includes a blade or plurality of blades configured to penetrate the adjacent v...

A vertebral body prosthetic device for replacing a surgically removed natural vertebral body and a method for its fixation to thereby reconstruct a patient's spinal column. The inventive device generally comprises upper and lower endplates separated by a plurality of support columns or posts. The device is dimensioned to fit completely within the patient's vertebral column and is fixed using axially-oriented screws.

A spinal disc prosthesis comprises an upper flat rigid plate, a lower flat rigid plate, and a flat elastomeric core interposed between said plates and adhered to the plates. A plurality of spaced-apart protuberances extend outwardly from the exposed faces of the plates for engagement with vertebrae above and below the plates. A porous coating covers the exposed surfaces of the plates. The elastomeric core is made of a polyolefin rubber having mechanical properites similar to a natural spinal dis...

A spinal implant for intervertebral disc replacement. The implant is formed from two hemicylindrical elements, each engaging one of an adjacent pair of vertebrae. An articulating ball-and-socket joint between the two elements resists compression and lateral movement between the vertebrae, but allows pivotal movement, thereby preserving mobility. Fusion chambers are provided for allowing bone ingrowth to fuse the elements to the vertebrae. Biocompatible, bioreabsorbable struts, shims, fillers and...

A substitute vertebra with adjustable height is provided with a sleeve-shaped central part (1) having a wall with a plurality of apertures (5, 6), the central part comprising a left-handed thread adjacent to its first edge and a right-handed thread adjacent to its second edge. A cylindrical first part (7) is connected with the one threaded portion through a corresponding thread and a cylindrical second part (9) is connected to the other threaded portion through a corresponding thread. Both parts...

A spinal disc prosthesis to replace a damaged spinal disc in a spinal column (16) of a human, includes a body (10) having an upper surface (52) engageable with the upper vertebra (12) and a lower surface (152) engageable with the lower vertebra (14). The body (10) includes a crescent-shaped projection (62, 162) extending from one of the upper and lower surfaces (52, 152) of the body for receipt in a cavity in the adjacent vertebra (12, 14).

An implant, in particular an intervertebral prosthesis, which consists of an elongated elastic body which is form-elastic and takes on the form of a spiral S in the force free state. The spiral can be drawn by a reverse winding up into an insertion instrument which is only insubstantially larger in the insertion region than the cross-section of the elongated elastic body in order to reach the inner space of an intervertebral disc through a small opening in the annulus fibrosus and to push in and...

A prosthesis for the replacement of an intervertebral disc of the spine comprises a block of an elastomeric material, which is held under compression by an encapsulating textile fabric. A preferred version of the invention (see FIG. 8) has continuations of the encapsulating fabric forming an interdigitation, with the continuation of the upper fabric passing through a hole in the lower fabric and being attached to the lower vertebral body and the continuation of the lower fabric crossing to its f...

An interbody implant for enhancing fusion of adjacent vertebral bodies comprises a rectangular cage member of an open construction dimensioned to fit between adjacent vertebral bodies following surgical removal of the disk. The rectangular cage member includes a plurality of ribs for engaging the plateaus of adjacent vertebral bodies for preventing lateral shifting of the cage. It is held against anterior/posterior motion by a locking screw which threadedly engages the cage and adjacent bone tis...

A process is described for changing the curvature of the cornea in which the light of a light source is focused in the cornea with a wavelength of approximately 1.5 .mu.m to 6 .mu.m so that the collagenic tissue shrinks selectively. The invention is characterized in that the light is applied continuously at such a power that, although a temperature is reached which leads to irreversible coagulations of the collagenic tissue, the temperature within the coagulated region rises to values at which t...