(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new artificial cervical disc may give hope to the
thousands of neck pain sufferers looking for an option not including vertebrae
fusion.
A herniated cervical disc can cause chronic neck and arm pain. The current
treatment for this condition involves surgery to fuse the affected part of the
spine, resulting in limited mobility of the neck. While the procedure can
relieve pain, it can also lead to herniation of other discs over time.
Artificial discs that maintain normal neck motion have been available outside of
the United States for several years. Now, FDA-approved multi-center trials have
concluded in the United States, and researchers say they expect the artificial
discs to become an available alternative to disc fusion surgery in the near
future.
Researchers compared two groups. One group of 54 patients received the standard
treatment of cervical discectomy and fusion. The other group of 66 patients
received cervical discectomy followed by implantation of the PRESTIGE ST
artificial cervical disc.
Researchers say the outcomes for both groups were approximately similar. The
group with artificial discs, however, reported greater maintenance of neck
motion.
SOURCE: Presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Association of
Neurological Surgeons in San Francisco, April 24-27, 2006
