Non-fusion options for back surgery

SECURE^®-C Cervical Artificial Disc Clinical Trial (sponsored clinical trial listing)
February 28, 2006
The objective of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the SECURE^®-C Cervical Artificial Disc for the treatment of symptomatic cervical disc disease as compared to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Read more...

CerviCore™ Intervertebral Disc Clinical Study (sponsored clinical trial listing)
February 17, 2006
The study is a multi-center, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial that will compare the safety and effectiveness of the CerviCore Intervertebral Disc to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in the treatment of cervical radicular symptoms. Read more...

TFAS™ Total Facet Arthroplasty System™ Clinical Trial (sponsored clinical trial listing)
February 1, 2006
The TFAS™ clinical trial is a multi-center, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of the TFAS™ to spinal fusion surgery in the treatment of moderate to severe degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. Read more...

Cervical artificial disc clinical trial—PCM® (sponsored clinical trial listing)
October 31, 2005
This is a multi-center, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of the Porous Coated Motion (PCM®) disc for the treatment of disc herniation(s) or other degenerative disc disease (DDD) in the upper (cervical) spine as compared to spinal fusion in the treatment of this disease. Read more...

Lumbar Artificial Disc Surgery for Chronic Back Pain (Research article)
August 4, 2005
An artificial disc offers several theoretical benefits over spinal fusion for treatment of chronic back pain, including the potential for enhanced pain relief and to avoid premature degeneration at adjacent levels of the spine. This article provides an in-depth review of lower back disc replacement surgery and clinical trials. Read more...
By: Jack Zigler, MD

Disc nucleus replacement as an alternative to artificial disc replacement (Research article)
June 14, 2005
Disc nucleus replacement is a new type of surgery for low back pain from degenerative disc disease. Unlike artificial disc replacement, which involves replacing the entire disc, disc nucleus replacement surgery replaces just the inner part of the disc. Read more...
By: John Sherman, MD

Spinal disc replacement with the CHARITÉ Artificial Disc
Updated March 30, 2005
The goal of the CHARITÉ Artificial Disc replacement surgery is to reduce or alleviate chronic low back pain from degenerative disc disease by restoring the intervertebral disc height and neuroforaminal height while returning physiologic motion (similar to that of a healthy disc) in that segment of the spine. This artificial disc surgery requires complete removal of the unhealthy disc in order to implant the new artificial disc. Read more...
By: Paul McAfee, MD

Wallis Stabilization System Clinical Trial (sponsored clinical trial listing)
March 7, 2005
The US Clinical Study of the Wallis Stabilization System is a multi-center prospective, randomized clinical trial currently enrolling patients to compare the safety and effectiveness of the Wallis Device, a non-fusion surgical device, to conservative care for treatment of degenerative disc disease. Read more...

IDET: an alternative to invasive surgery for chronic low back pain
November 30, 2004
Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty (IDET) is a minimally invasive treatment for patients with chronic low back pain from certain types of degenerative disc disease or a contained disc herniation. Read more...
By: Jonathon Lester, MD

All about the Charité artificial disc: now approved for use in the U.S.
November 17, 2004
Artificial disc replacement surgery is now available in the US for select patients with ongoing back pain from degenerative disc disease. As with any new surgical procedure, a number of factors should be considered before any patient has artificial disc surgery, including the surgeon's relevant training, the surgeon's skills, patient selection and appropriate indications, and more. Read more...
By: Stephen Hochschuler, MD and Paul McAfee, MD

Artificial disc for cervical disc replacement (Research article)
April 12, 2004
The intent of the artificial cervical disc device is to preserve motion at the disc space. It is an alternative to the use of bone grafts, plates and screws in pursuit of a fusion following removal of a cervical disc. Read more...
By: Mark Mikles, MD and Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD

Cervical artificial disc clinical trial—PRODISC-C^® (Sponsored clinical trial listing)
November 25, 2003
A multi-center, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of PRODISC-C to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery in the treatment of symptomatic cervical disc disease. Read more...

Charité™ Artificial Disc (Sponsored clinical trial listing)
May 16, 2003
The Charité Artificial Disc is an investigational device limited by US (Federal) law to investigational use in the USA. Read more...

Artificial disc clinical trial—PRODISC (Sponsored clinical trial listing)
November 30, 2001
This is study is a multi-center, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of PRODISC total disc replacement to spinal fusion surgery in the treatment of discogenic pain associated with degenerative disc disease (DDD) in the lumbosacral spine. Read more...

Fusion surgery vs. alternatives for lumbar degenerative disc disease
November 15, 2000
The decision to have a fusion procedure done is a very personal one, and it is entirely the patient’s decision. If a patient does not wish to undergo a fusion surgery, there are a couple of different options that may also be considered. Read more...
By: Paul C. McAfee, MD

Degenerative disc disease - non-surgical treatment options
June 7, 2000
The treatment options for degenerative disc disease are either passive or active. Usually a combination of treatments is used to help control the symptoms. Passive treatments are rarely effective on their own - some active component is almost always required. Read more...
By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD

Research update on IDET (Research article)
January 2, 2001
Two peer reviewed studies published in the October 2000 issue of SPINE Journal report on the outcomes of patients having received Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty (IDET) an average of one year after treatment. Read more...
By: Ari Ben-Yishay, MD

Artificial disc replacement surgery vs. fusion surgery: Patients vote
January 20, 2006
Nearly half of op90.com's poll respondents said they are postponing spine fusion surgery in the hope of having artificial disc surgery instead. Artificial discs are designed to mimic the natural motion of the spine, so patients should have greater mobility than with fusion surgery. However, there are still unknowns about this relatively new technique. Read more...

Back-to-Back: Artificial discs and disc replacement surgery
In this section, patients share their advice and experiences with artificial discs, clinical trials and recovery from disc replacement surgery. Be sure to submit your own response as a resource for other patients considering artificial discs! Read more...

Back Pain Radio transcript: deciding on artificial disc replacement surgery
April 20, 2005
The decision to have artificial disc surgery is based on a combination of the patient’s history, response to conservative treatments and results from diagnostic tests, such as an MRI scan, x-ray and discogram. Read what Justin Tortolani, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon in Maryland and a member of op90.com, and Grant Cooper, M.D., host of Back Pain Radio, had to say about the decision process for when to have artificial disc replacement surgery on the April 18, 2005 show. Read transcript…

New advancement in back care- op90.com Newsletter
Recently there has been a great deal of media coverage about the potential upsides of the artificial disc and disc replacement surgery, as well as new developments for other types of spine surgery. This newsletter highlights new surgical techniques (including artificial discs and IDET) to help patients decide on the best treatment options for their back problems. Read more...

New advancements in spine surgery - op90.com Newsletter
Several important new spine surgery technologies are in various stages of development and you may want to consider these when making any decision about your treatment options. As with anything new in spine surgery, most of the information on the following developments remains theoretical, and longer term studies and follow-up are needed to fully understand the potential risks and benefits of each procedure. Read more...

Please note that these additional patient resources (such as The Back-to-Back Forum and Newsletters) on op90.com are not peer-reviewed by the op90.com Medical Advisory Board. They are provided as additional resources for patients to learn from each others’ experiences and to gain information from our popular newsletters.