4 key disc replacement updates for surgeons to know

Spine
Alan Condon -

The first artificial disc replacement in the U.S. was performed in 2000, but the technology has come a long way since then, with many surgeons predicting the procedure eventually will overtake spinal fusion as the standard of care.

Here are four key disc replacement developments Becker's has reported on in the past month:

1. The American Medical Association created an add-on code for the second level of lumbar total disc replacement procedures. The new code, which applies to two-level lumbar total disc arthroplasty via an anterior approach, will go into effect in January 2023. Centinel Spine's Prodisc L is the only total disc replacement system approved in the U.S. for two-level lumbar spine surgery.

2. Juan Jimenez, MD, of Kankakee, Ill.-based Riverside Neurosurgery Specialists, performed one of the first multi-lumbar disc replacements in Illinois. Dr. Jimenez is one of two surgeons in the state offering two-level disc replacements with Centinel Spine's Prodisc L implant.

3. Spineart USA's Baguera C cervical disc prosthesis marked its 100th surgery in combined single-level and two-level investigational device exemption clinical trials. Baguera C is designed to reconstruct the cervical disc after a discectomy for symptomatic cervical disc disease. The trials are examining the safety and efficacy of the device compared to the Mobi-C cervical disc.

4. Chad Prusmack, MD, performed a disc replacement on Jack Eichel, who plays for the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. The Nov. 12 surgery at Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic in Denver reportedly is the first disc replacement to be performed on an active NHL player.

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