POLYAXIAL BONE SCREW WITH TORQUELESS FASTENING

摘要

An adjustable spinal fixation system (10) is composed of a collection of anchoring assemblies (12) attached, via a variety of connectors (14), to spine-stabilizing rods (16). The anchoring assemblies (12) include a linking member (22) attached in a ball-and-socket fashion to a bone-engaging member that is adapted to engage a spinal bone of a patient. The linking member (22) joins one of the included connectors (14) to an associated bone-engaging member. The connectors (14) are selectively attached to one of the stabilizing rods (16). The anchoring assemblies (12) each include a support collar (18) and a split retention ring (24) that cooperate to allow adjustment of the bone-engaging member and corresponding connector during surgery. When surgery is complete, a linear engaging fastener (100) cooperates with the support collar (18) and split retention ring (24) to maintain the relative position of the entire fixation system (10), preventing unwanted movement-between the system components.