A minimally invasive system includes a bone screw and a tissue retractor having distal and proximal end portions and a partial pathway therebetween. The tissue retractor is removably couplable to the bone screw. An instrument has distal and proximal end portions and a hollow cavity and is removably couplable to the tissue retractor. A drive shaft has a diameter less than a diameter of the hollow cavity and is rotatable with respect to the instrument. A counter-torque handle has gripping and an interlock end portions with an instrument interface releasably positioned within the hollow cavity at the proximal end portion thereof and rotatably fixed thereto in an assembled configuration. The interlock end portion also includes an open-ended slot having a width greater than the drive shaft diameter such that the counter-torque handle is movable to and from the assembled configuration while the drive shaft is within the hollow cavity.
