Degenerative disc disease patients who underwent total disc replacement with the ActivL Artificial Disc had better outcomes than patients who received the ProDisc-L, according to a study by Aesculap Implant Systems.
The study by the Center Valley, Pa.-based implant developer compared Aesculap's ActivL Artificial Disc with Centinel Spine's ProDisc-L, reporting outcomes seven years postsurgery — "the longest follow-up of patients from a lumbar arthroplasty [investigational device exemption] trial," according to Kris Radcliff, MD.
According to the trial, the benefits of both the ActivL and ProDisc-L remained seven years postprocedure, "with significant improvements from baseline observed in pain, function, and opioid use." However, patients with the ActivL disc showed better range of motion than those with the ProDisc-L, and 57 percent of ProDisc-L patients reported "serious adverse events," compared with 38 percent of ActivL patients.
Another study from this year published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research on the ActivL found that, three years postsurgery, patients had overall better sagittal alignment and experienced less pain.
Read more about Aesculap's study here.