Artificial disc replacement technology has made significant strides in 2021. Here's a breakdown of three artificial discs making headlines.
Prodisc L: Centinel Spine's Prodisc L is the only total disc replacement system in the U.S. approved for two-level use in the lumbar spine. Its clinical usage began in 1990, and it has been implanted in more than 125,000 surgeries worldwide. It has been touted to treat degenerative disc disease and has a wide selection of available endplates.
Centinel Spine received the Orthopedics This Week Spine Technology Award for the disc's new angled endplates in October. The American Medical Association in November accepted a new CPT add-on code for the second level of lumbar total disc replacement procedures, the company said.
M6-C: M6-C is Orthofix's artificial disc implant. It mimics the natural motion of a native disc and is touted as an alternative to cervical fusion. The implant is inserted via an anterior approach.
Three- and four-year preliminary outcomes at the single level released in May have shown "statistically significant benefits." In September, the disc reached its 60,000th implantation worldwide. M6-C sales jumped 105 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2021, Orthofix CEO Jon Serbousek said in an earnings call.
The disc is being evaluated for contiguous two-level symptomatic cervical radiculopathy, Orthofix said in August. Todd Lanman, MD, completed the study's first implantation.
Simplify: NuVasive assumed control of the Simplify Disc after it acquired Simplify Medical in February. The implant features the lowest available disc heights starting at 4mm and offers nickel-free materials and metal-free articulating surfaces to reduce the risk of metal-wear debris.
The FDA approved the artificial disc for two-level total disc replacement in April. It demonstrated clinical superiority at 24 months compared to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion in a two-level investigational device exemption study, according to NuVasive.