US Patent 8182519 Method for performing minimally invasive surgury

Pedicle screw apparatuses each including a pedicle screw assembly and an attached pedicle screw extender are placed in a true percutaneous manner, thereby overcoming issues resulting from placing pedicle screw assemblies through a retractor. Thus, a retractor can advantageously be built off of the pedicle screw apparatuses, thereby allowing visualization of the spine anatomy directly. Furthermore, such a method for performing surgery ensures ideal placement of the retractor for additional procedures that are often required such as, for example, decompression, interbody device placement, etc.