The University of Maryland Medical Center is the first state institution to offer disc-replacement surgery with the new Food and Drug Administration-approved artificial disc.
“The artificial disc offers patients a remarkably effective option that alleviates pain and also preserves more of their mobility,” said Dr. Francois Aldrich, a neurosurgeon at UMMC and associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration on July 16, the Prestige artificial cervical disc is the firstof its kind to receive FDA approval.
The disc is meant to treat cervical degenerative disc disease, the most common cause of neck and arm pain in people over age 40, resulting in more than 200,000 spinal fusion surgeries annually. The degeneration is caused mostly by the aging process.
Standard treatment for cervical degeneration is a spinal fusion procedure ? removal of the damaged disc to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots to alleviate pain. Then, two or more vertebrae are fused using bone grafts and a metal plate.
The device was tested in a national clinical trial with 541 patients, according to the FDA?s Web site.
So far, 30 patients throughout the U.S. have received the disc implant.
The first patient in Maryland to receive the artificial implant is 48-year-old attorney Meryl L. Eddy. Aldrich performed her Aug. 8 surgery.
Eddy had excruciating pain radiating down her right arm.
“Pre-surgery, it was difficult to lift a glass of water up to my mouth,” the Ellicott City resident said Tuesday. “Now, I can swing my arm around, and brush my hair. I?m very pleased.”
“This type of surgery is an alternative, an augmentation of an already existing procedure,” Aldrich said. “It definitely will not replace the old method, but this has proven to be superior.”
The device consists of two pieces of stainless steel with a patented groove design that allows full range of motion. Once the patient?s damaged disc is removed during surgery, the artificial disc is screwed to the vertebrae above and below the open space.
