Dr. Sinicropi recently had a featured article published on Spine-Health.com. The article, title “Two Level Cervical Disc Replacement” compares the cervical fusion procedure to the newer two level cervical disc replacement surgery. From the article:
“Spinal fusions have been performed in the United States since as early as the 1950s, while disc replacement technologies have only been around since they were first approved by the FDA in the mid-2000s. Two-level cervical artificial discs have been approved for use for an even shorter period of time, and presently published data are only available for 2-year follow-up, although longer-term results are being tabulated. As such, longer-term risks and potential complications are less well known relative to ACDF. For some patients and surgeons, the most substantial potential future risk is if the disc implant would need to be removed at some point in the future. Since many people who are candidates for this procedure are relatively young, this is a significant consideration.”
Read the full article here.