Artificial Disc Replacement Surgery Specialist

What is artificial disc replacement surgery?

Artificial disc replacement surgery is a potential treatment for damaged or diseased discs in your spine. It’s an alternative to discectomy and fusion, the other primary form of surgery for disc problems.

There’s a disc between each of your vertebra that provides cushioning and support to your spine. If a disc suffers damage that isn’t repairable, the Total Spine Institute team can remove it and replace it with an artificial disc.

Artificial discs use metals and/or plastics to reproduce the function of your natural discs. After artificial disc replacement surgery, you can move your back or neck in much the same way as you could before you developed disc problems. The Total Spine Institute team replaces both cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) discs.

Why would I need artificial disc replacement surgery?

You might need artificial disc replacement surgery if a damaged disc is causing you significant pain or loss of function that no other treatments can resolve.

Sometimes, discs suffer acute trauma that causes the tough outer shell to rupture. The inner jelly-like material pushes through the tear into your spinal canal. That condition — disc herniation — can also occur after years of wear-and-tear on the discs that leads to degenerative disc disease.

With age, the discs get flatter and drier. The inner jelly pushes against a weak spot (bulging disc) or right through (herniated disc). The protruding disc then presses on spinal nerves, causing radiculopathy — pain, numbness, tingling or prickling sensations, and weakness.

Treatments like physical therapy, medications, and steroid injections can often reduce inflammation and pain. However, some people don’t respond to these treatments or have disc damage that’s too severe for such methods to work. In these cases, artificial disc replacement is an option to consider.

What does artificial disc replacement surgery involve?

When considering surgery for a disc problem, the first stage is choosing between artificial disc replacement and fusion. Both procedures start the same way with a discectomy, which involves surgically removing the damaged disc.

Fusion bonds the vertebrae on either side of a damaged disc after removal of the disc. It offers stability and a reduction in pain, but there will be some limits to your spinal mobility. Artificial disc replacement has an advantage as it restores natural movement and flexibility to your spine. However, not all patients are suitable for artificial disc replacement surgery.

When performing artificial disc replacement, your surgeon at Total Spine Institute prepares the space for the new disc and secures it in position. Very often, you can go home the day of your procedure or soon after, thanks to minimally invasive and robotic-assisted spine surgeries, which cause less tissue damage than open surgery.

If you have a herniated disc and no other therapy is working, contact Total Spine Institute and inquire about artificial disc replacement surgery. Call one of the offices or book an appointment online today.