CHICAGO, July 17 -- People who suffer from degenerative discs in their neck, now have a better option to relieve pain in their neck and arm, allow quick recovery and enable them to lead active and productive lives. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Prestige ST Cervical Disc System.
Used extensively in Europe, FDA clearance of the Prestige disc from Medtronic, follows a unanimous recommendation for approval from the FDA advisory board. The artificial disc for the cervical (neck) region is expected to impact more than 200,000 Americans who suffer from degenerative disc disease.
Currently, the most common treatment for patients with degenerative discs in the cervical spine is spinal fusion. In this procedure a surgeon removes the damaged disc then implants a bone graft and metal plate to fuse the vertebrae together. During artificial disc replacement surgery, the damaged disc is removed and replaced with an artificial disc, a stainless-steel device with a ball-in-trough design intended to allow for replication of normal motion. The disc stays in place with bone screws. The hospital stay for this procedure is approximately one-two days. Patients can begin rehabilitation and return to daily activities soon after surgery. In fact, patients receiving the Prestige ST artificial disc returned to work in 45 days, 16 days earlier than the fusion patients.
"Compared to spinal fusion, study results show that artificial cervical disc patients regain function faster, and have a higher rate of neurological success as measured by muscle tone, strength and sensation," says Dr. Dean Karahalios, CINN neurosurgeon. "Furthermore, the study demonstrated that at two year follow-up the overall success rate for the artificial disc group was 79.3% compared to the fusion group at 67.8%. These reasons are compelling enough for potential candidates to consider the option of an artificial disc."
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