Total Disc Arthroplasty for Treating Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

STUDY DESIGN: Lumber disc arthroplasty is a technological advancement that has occurred in the last decade to treat lumbar degenerative disk diseases. PURPOSE: The aim of this retrospective study was to establish the impact and outcomes of managing patients with lumbar degenerative disk disease who have been treated with lumbar total disc arthroplasty (TDA). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Several studies have shown promising results following this surgery. METHODS: We reviewed the files of 104 patients at the Department of Neurosurgery in Colmar (France) who had been operated on by lumbar spine arthroplasty (Prodisc) between April 2002 and October 2008. RESULTS: Among the 104 patients, 67 were female and 37 were male with an average age of 33.1 years. We followed the cases for a mean of 20 months. The most frequent level of discopathy was L4-L5 with 62 patients (59.6%) followed by L5-S1 level with 52 patients (50%). Eighty-three patients suffered from low back pain, 21 of which were associated with radiculopathy. The status of 82 patients improved after surgery according to the Oswestry Disability Index score, and 92 patients returned to work. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that TDA is a good alternative treatment for lumbar spine disk disease, particularly for patients with disabling and chronic low back pain. This technique contributes to improve living conditions with correct patient selection for surgery.