|
Lumbar fusion surgery is sometimes recommended for chronic back pain
caused by disc disease. Lumbar fusion surgery is one type of disc
replacement. The bad disc is replaced with solid bone. Artificial disc
surgery, or a total disc replacement, may soon replace some fusion
surgery.
An artificial disc is a metal and plastic device. It looks like two
connected saucers. Unlike a replacement done with bone, the metal and
plastic disc replacement allows for some movement. It is inserted from the
front through a small incision below the navel. The operation lasts about
two hours. A three or four-day hospital stay is required.
Although it is promising, the artificial disc is still an experimental
device. Although it has been available for some time in Europe, testing
has just begun in the United States. The procedure may be available here
within one or two years. The artificial disc will not fix all types of
back pain and cannot be used in all patients.
If you are thinking about having an artificial disc surgery, you need
to know that it remains very controversial. For the same reasons you might
not want to buy an experimental type of car, you might not want to have an
experimental type of surgery. For more information, consult your spine
specialist.
|
