Abstract: Spinal surgical procedures for implanting intervertebral devices, and associated devices and systems are described herein. A representative spinal surgical procedure can include gaining access to a diseased disc of a spine of a patient via a minimally-invasive a lateral, transpedicular, transfacet, or transforaminal access pathway. Various instruments can be inserted through the trocar to (i) remove some or all of the diseased disc, (ii) expand a disc space around the diseased disc, (iii) insert an intervertebral device into the disc space, and/or (iv) fill the intervertebral device with a fill material. Each of the aforementioned steps can be performed through the minimally-invasive access pathway provided by the trocar. This can minimize disruption to the flesh of the patient—minimizing patient pain and recovery time.