More About Total Disc Replacement
- Posted on: May 30 2020
When a patient is suffering from chronic back pain that hasn’t responded to conservative treatments for at least six months, it can be time to move treatment to the next level. Dr. Tinley may now discuss with you procedures such as microdiscectomies and laminectomies, both of which aim to relieve compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots exiting the spinal cord.
If those procedures aren’t an option, the next options are fusion surgery or total disc replacement surgery. We discussed lumbar fusion back in a March blog. In this month’s first blog we discussed total disc replacement with the prodisc system. Here’s why Dr. Tinley has selected the prodisc L for lumbar disc replacement and the prodisc C for cervical disc replacement.
Why prodisc?
The first prodisc implantation of a lumbar artificial disc took place in 1990. Since then, a second-generation design was approved back in 2006. That gives Centennial Spine, the maker of prodisc, three decades of clinical research on their artificial discs and replacement surgery. It is the most studied total disc replacement system in the world. To date, over 125,000 prodisc device implantations have been performed, and the reported reoperation rate is less than one percent.
Advantages of prodisc
- Designed for Motion with Stability — The prodisc implant is a ball and socket design with a fixed center of rotation. The fixed center of rotation allows physiological range of motion while providing stability to the spine, significantly reducing reoperations on adjacent vertebrae.
- Immediate Post-Operative Fixation — The prodisc implants feature midline keels. These ensure the implant is securely held in place so the patient can begin rehabilitation and return to normal activities sooner.
- Long-Term Fixation — The entire surface of the implant that is in contact with the vertebra is coated with a highly porous plasma sprayed titanium coating. This allows for bony on-growth into the porous surface of the implant for long term, secure fixation.
- Controlled and Predictable Motion — Unlike other designs, prodisc is designed to enable physiologic motion in the degenerated spine.
- Range of Motion — By providing stability through controlled translation, prodisc allows a normal range of motion.
- Reduces Adjacent Level Disease — Fusion has been the go-to procedure for treating degenerative disc disease but immobilizing a segment of the spine has been shown to increase the rate of adjacent level degeneration. The prodisc system of total disc replacement has been shown in multiple long-term studies to decrease the development of adjacent level disease.
Dr. Tinley is excited to offer these two Centennial Spine products for total disc replacement. These complement the STALIF fusion implant, also from Centennial. Call us at DFW Center for Spinal Disorders, (817) 916-4685, to make an appointment.
Posted in: Bulging Disc Treatment, Spinal Disorders
