Surgeons and researchers recently published their research comparing cervical disc arthroplasty to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion growth in the journal Spine.
The researchers gathered data from the National Inpatient Sample database on patients who received cervical disc arthroplasty and ACDF in the three years after the artificial disc was approved by the FDA in 2007. The researchers found:
• CDA grew 4.9 percent in those three years
• ACDF grew 11.8 percent in those three years
• Female, African American and Medicaid patients were less likely to receive CDA
• CDA was more likely performed on younger and healthier patients
• Patients in the Midwestern region were less likely to receive CDA
• Patients in public hospitals were less likely to receive CDA
• Patients with cervical spondylotic change were less likely to receive CDA
"Although there seems to be CDA adoption, CDA growth seemed to have reached a plateau and ACDF still remained the dominant surgical strategy for cervical disease," concluded the study authors. "Possible regional, racial and sex disparities in CDA utilization and more strict approach in the selection of CDA over traditional ACDF may have impeded rapid adoption of CDA."
More Articles on Spine Surgery:
Readmission After Cervical Spinal Fusion: 3 Predictors
Minimally Invasive vs. Open Spine Surgery: 6 Key Points
Lateral Spine Surgery in the Outpatient Setting: Q&A With Dr. Gerald Schell