Spinal Disc Replacement surgery (Artificial disc replacement procedure)

Dr Himanshu Tyagi, Senior consultant Spine & orthopedic surgeon.

Ph : 9654095717

MCh Orthopaedics (U.K), FNB Spine surgery, DNB Orthopaedics

Key Facts Spinal Disc Replacement (Artificial Spinal Disc)

Indications: Spinal Disc Degeneration with chronic back pain

Strategy: Spinal Disc Replacement (ADR) replaces the intervetebral Disc with a disc prosthesis maintaining natural mobility of the vertebrate spine

Inpatient treatment: 2 days for cervical disc replacement and 10 days for lumbar disc replacement

Outpatient Rehabilitation: 14 days for cervical artificial disc and 21 days for lumbar artificial disc replacement

Earliest flight home: 7 days after surgery for cervical disc replacement and 21 days for lumbar disc replacement

Recommended flight home: 14 days after surgery for cervical disc replacement and 21 days for lumbar disc replacement

Time before showering: 7 days after cervial disc replacement surgery, 10 days after lumbar disc replacement surgery

Recommended time off work: 4 weeks for both lumbar and cervical disc replacement

Suture removal: Cervical disc replacement - no sutures. Lumbar disc replacement - after 14 days

Time before driving a car: Cervical disc replacement - 1 week. Lumbar disc replacement - 28 days

When is spinal disc replacement necessary?

Total disc replacement is performed when a patient is experiencing pain from a pinched nerve in the lumbar spine due to a diseased or damaged disc.
Lumbar (lower back) spinal disc degeneration is one of the most commonly diagnosed spinal diseases among adults.
At the Gelenk-Klinik spinal centre we have worked hard to find safe and reliable ways to help patients with chronic back pain caused by lumbar spinal disc degeneration.

Advantages of disc prosthesis over spinal fusion

Restores mobility of the spine

Faster healing and recovery following surgery

Better long term bio mechanical results for the patient (flexibility and mobility)

Quicker rates of return to work and recreational sports

No wear and tear in the adjacent areas of the spine

Next generation artificial disc replacements restore the natural motion of the human spine

For many decades spinal fusion was the only option for patients with this condition, however spinal fusion creates increased wear and tear in the adjacent areas of the spine. Spinal fusion is effective and safe, but always compromises the dynamics and biomechanics of the human spine. This means that the long term flexibility and mobility of the patient may be compromised.
Following more than ten years of development, artificial discs have been improved to such an extent, that they are now considered an effective and safe treatment option for spinal disc degeneration.
The modern M6 artificial spinal discs offer a particularly effective alternative to the earlier established practice of spinal fusion surgery.
Artificial spinal discs have the potential to preserve mobility in the spinal column, almost matching the mobility of a normal healthy spine.
What to expect from an artificial spinal disc? These artificial discs help to improve mobility in a segment of the spine which has been affected by disk degeneration.

Modern disc prostheses have a movable core, which allows movement in all directions, analogous to the core of the natural, biological disc. Only with this level of mobility, can a lasting, painfree result be achieved. This core is able to support strain, pressure, rotation, and shear (when the vertebrae are shifted sideways). Any limitation on this mobility, decreases the durability of the prosthesis, because of the threat of wear and loosening. Former artificial disc prosthesis were designed with a nonelastic polyethylene core. These suffered from early loosening, as they were not effective as shock absorbers. Because they did not imitate the natural action of the disc, the patient suffered the consequences of compromised spinal biomechanics.

Benefits of the artificial spinal disc

The use of the M6-L artificial disc is now supported by evidence of safe function and mobility stretching back decades.
Experience with this type of artificial disc prosthesis in long term use is extremely positive.
Hundreds of patients have already been treated with the new generation artificial spinal disc replacements in spine and back centres in Germany. It is a stable and safe procedure, which gives patients with lumbar disc degeneration a pain free and more mobile long term result, than the more established practice of spinal fusion surgery.

Checklist for Artificial Disc Replacement

Diagnostic MRI shows disc degeneration

Cause of pain is neurosurgically established

Non surgical therapy has been without success

Other causes of chronic pain have been systematically excluded

Chronic pain for more than six months