Total Disc Replacement

We would see this more readily in the lumbar spine in particular. Currently, many surgeons who do not do lumbar artificial disc replacement still perform cervical disc replacements.

Cervical and lumbar disc replacement have shown promising results compared with spinal fusion for the treatment of neck and lower back conditions, but sources said surgical skepticism and insurance barriers have stifled utilization rates.

Results published in The Spine Journal showed an artificial cervical disc may yield improved clinical outcomes compared with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the treatment of single-level degenerative cervical radiculopathy.

Prior surgery did not negatively impact surgical outcomes for patients undergoing lumbar total disc replacement and should not be an “obstacle” to the intervention, according to presented results.

The AMA has accepted the addition of a new category I CPT code for second-level lumbar total disc replacement procedures, according to a press release.

For total disc replacement in patients with degenerative disc disease, an artificial disc is a safe option that improves pain relief, function, range of motion and decreases in opioid use, according to published results.

Centinel Spine LLC received FDA clearance for its prodisc L lumbar total disc replacement system, the first device of its kind to be clinically tested and approved for two-level use, according to a company press release.

CHICAGO — At the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting, Vikas V. Patel, MD, discussed a study that compared imputation methods for the evaluation of long-term outcomes after lumbar total disc replacement. He said total disc replacement is a viable treatment with positive outcomes. He said imputation methods and complete case data show the most long-lasting effects following total disc replacement.

CHICAGO — When faced with patients with neurological deficits, such as myelopathy, in a fictional clinical scenario, spine surgeons and hip arthroplasty surgeons tended to have this factor drive their decision-making about the order in which they would treat the hip and lumbar spine in patients with hip-spine syndrome.

CHICAGO — The recommendation that patients who are scheduled to undergo cervical total disc replacement be tested with DEXA to screen for osteoporosis — a condition that may be a contraindication for such surgery — may no longer need to be followed based on results of a retrospective review study presented at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting, here.