The indications for artificial disc replacement continue to expand, and the newest generation of implants can lead to faster recovery, improve mobility and reduce pain, according to Ernest Braxton, MD, a neurosurgeon at Vail (Colo.) Summit Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery.
Dr. Braxton outlined the benefits of disc replacement, a technique designed to preserve motion, compared to spinal fusion, where added pressure can be placed on adjacent spinal levels and the actual fusion of the vertebrae does not always take.
"We provide a service for motion preservation, and a big alternative to fusion," Dr. Braxton told Vail Daily in an Aug. 26 article. "Disc replacement maintains motion and reduces and prevents adjacent segment disease. And we've had a 90 percent satisfaction rate — revision surgeries are less common on a disc replacement procedure."
As disc replacement technology develops over the next decade, many spine surgeons project that the technique will overtake spinal fusion as the standard of care. Some predict that cervical arthroplasty will become as reproducible and prevalent as knee and hip replacements.
"The primary advantages are faster recovery, as there are no screws or plates involved, and fewer incidents of reoperations being necessary," Dr. Braxton said. "Also, there's less incidence of pseudoarthrosis, which occurs when fusion fails to heal."