Todd Lanman, MD, and Jason Cuellar, MD, PhD, completed the first three-level artificial disc replacement using the Prodisc C Vivo implant in the U.S.
The duo operated on a 76-year-old woman with disc degeneration at four levels, the ADR Spinal Restoration Center said in an Oct. 18 news release. Three levels used the Prodisc C Vivo device, and the fourth level had the original Prodisc C implant.
"Everyone else wanted to fuse her spine at four levels," Dr. Lanman said in the release. "At 76 years old, she has the activity level of a much younger person. I couldn't bear to see more than half of her cervical spine fused."
Prodisc C Vivo has a keelless design with short lateral spikes that provide immediate fixation with comparable strength as other keeled Prodisc devices.
The patient left the hospital the morning after her procedure and had minimal pain.