US Patent 8048160 Intervertebral disc annulus stent

A stent, or device for repair and reconstruction of the spinal disc wall, or annulus fibrosus, after surgical incision or pathologic rupture, which is inserted through an aperture into the subannular space. The stent has radial extensions which are caused or allowed to expand into an expanded configuration to bridge the aperture. The stent thereby occludes the defective region from the inside of the vertebral disc and prevents the migration of nucleus pulposus therethrough, while also providing a scaffold for tissue growth.