Jeffrey Carlson, MD, successfully implanted an M6-C artificial cervical disc in a 53-year-old patient at Bon Secours/Mercy Health Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, Va., Nov. 20.
What you should know:
1. After the patient complained of severe neck pain and failed to respond to conservative treatment, a physician ordered an MRI, which revealed severe spinal stenosis and spinal cord abutment caused by a herniated disc.
2. The patient visited Dr. Carlson, and after a discussion decided to have a cervical disc arthroplasty with the Orthofix M6-C artificial cervical disc.
3. The patient's recovery is "going very well" and her pain has lessened considerably.
4. Dr. Carlson believes he is the first surgeon in eastern and central Virginia to implant the M6-C disc.