Surgical procedure with retractor

1. A method comprising:

positioning a patient on a table in a lateral decubitus position;

forming an incision in the patient;

accessing the patient's retroperitoneal space;

advancing a lateral retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing a cranial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing first and second carriages into a track of an arcuate frame;

disposing the frame proximate the incision;

coupling a first rigid table mount to the frame;

coupling a lateral retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a lateral retractor post of the lateral retractor assembly in a blade holder of the first carriage;

coupling a cranial retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a cranial retractor post of the cranial retractor assembly in a blade holder of the second carriage;

through a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade, preparing a target disc space;

placing an implant in the target disc space; and

closing the incision.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

advancing a medial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space; and

using the medial blade to maintain abdominal contents tissue out of a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

wherein the medial blade is used to maintain abdominal contents out of the corridor without retracting tissue with the medial blade.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

hooking a distal end hook of the medial blade on a vertebrae and leveraging against the vertebrae as the third blade is angled down to increase exposure.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

fixing the position of the medial blade to a second rigid table mount separate from the first.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target disc space is the patient's L5-S1 disc space.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

making a first skin marking on the patient defining the patient's iliac crest;

making a second skin marking on the patient defining an inferior endplate of the patient's L5 vertebra;

making a third skin marking on the patient defining a superior endplate of the patient's S1 bone; and

making a third skin marking on the patient defining a midline.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

positioning the lateral retractor blade medial to one or more descending common iliac vessels and lateral to the L5-S1 disc space.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

anchoring the lateral retractor blade by placing a bone anchor through an anchor channel of the lateral retractor blade and into the S1 bone.

10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

advancing the cranial retractor blade to a superior aspect of a target disc space and below a descending vessel bifurcation.

11. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

anchoring a distal end of the cranial retractor blade by placing a second bone anchor through an anchor channel of the cranial retractor blade and into the L5 vertebra.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

securing the patient in the lateral decubitus position using tape.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the incision includes:

forming an oblique incision lateral to a rectus muscle of the patient and cephalad to an inguinal ligament of the patient.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein disposing the frame proximate the incision includes orienting the frame such that a lateral carriage marker of the frame is oriented laterally and a cranial carriage marker of the frame is oriented cranially.

15. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the first carriage is in an unlocked configuration while the lateral retractor post is disposed in the blade holder of the lateral carriage;

wherein the second carriage is in an unlocked configuration while the cranial retractor post is disposed in the blade holder of the cranial carriage; and

wherein the method further comprises:

after coupling the lateral retractor assembly to the frame, locking the first carriage; and

after coupling the cranial retractor assembly to the frame, locking the second carriage.

16. A method comprising:

performing a single-position lumber interbody fusion at an L5-S1 disc space of a patient in a lateral decubitus position, wherein performing the single-position lumber interbody fusion includes:

positioning the patient on a table in the lateral decubitus position;

forming an incision in the patient;

accessing the patient's retroperitoneal space;

advancing a lateral retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing a cranial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing a lateral carriage and a cranial carriage into a track of an arcuate frame;

disposing the frame proximate the incision;

coupling a lateral retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a lateral retractor post of the lateral retractor assembly in a blade holder of the lateral carriage;

coupling a cranial retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a cranial retractor post of the cranial retractor assembly in a blade holder of the cranial carriage;

through a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade, preparing a target disc space;

placing an implant in the target disc space; and

closing the incision.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

positioning the lateral retractor blade medial to one or more descending common iliac vessels and lateral to the L5-S1 disc space;

anchoring the lateral retractor blade by placing a bone anchor through an anchor channel of the lateral retractor blade and into the S1 bone;

advancing the cranial retractor blade to a superior aspect of a target disc space and below a descending vessel bifurcation; and

anchoring a distal end of the cranial retractor blade by placing a second bone anchor through an anchor channel of the cranial retractor blade and into the L5 vertebra.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

advancing a medial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

using the medial blade to maintain abdominal contents tissue out of a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade;

fixing the position of the frame to a first mount; and

fixing the position of the medial blade to a second mount separate from the first mount.

19. A method comprising:

performing a single-position lumber interbody fusion at a disc space of a patient in a lateral decubitus position, wherein performing the single-position lumber interbody fusion includes:

positioning the patient on a table in the lateral decubitus position;

forming an incision in the patient;

accessing the patient's retroperitoneal space;

advancing a lateral retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing a cranial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

advancing a lateral carriage and a cranial carriage into a track of an arcuate frame;

disposing the frame proximate the incision;

coupling a lateral retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a lateral retractor post of the lateral retractor assembly in a blade holder of the lateral carriage;

coupling a cranial retractor assembly to the frame by disposing a cranial retractor post of the cranial retractor assembly in a blade holder of the cranial carriage;

advancing a medial retractor blade into the retroperitoneal space;

using the medial blade to maintain abdominal contents tissue out of a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade;

through a corridor defined in part by the lateral retractor blade and the cranial retractor blade, preparing a target disc space;

placing an implant in the target disc space; and

closing the incision.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

fixing the position of the frame to a first mount; and

fixing the position of the medial blade to a second mount separate from the first mount.