Total disc prosthesis for painful degenerative lumbar disc disease

Objectives: We evaluated clinical and radiographic results of patients treated by the ProDisc II total disc prosthesis (TDP) for painful degenerative lumbar disc disease. Methods: The study included 34 patients (25 females, 9 males; mean age 44 years; range 37 to 54 years) who under¬went a total of 62 lumbar TDP procedures for degenerative lumbar disc disease. Lumbar disc replacement involved one level in 12 cases, two levels in 17 cases, three levels in four cases, and four levels in one case. Clinical and ra¬diographic assessments were made preoperatively and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Clinical evaluations were made with a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Os¬westry Disability Index (ODI). Radiographic parameters included lumbar lordotic angle, the height and flexion-ex¬tension range of the affected discs. The mean follow-up period was 29.3 months (range 24 to 39 months). Results: Low back pain and lower extremity pain showed near-complete improvement up to the third postoperative month. At the end of the 24th month, preoperative ODI and VAS scores of 59.6 and 7.8 decreased to 19.8 and 1.0, respectively. Preoperative and postoperative lumbar lor- dotic angles were 52.6° and 57.1°, respectively. The mean disc height of implanted discs increased from 4.6 mm to 12.1 mm postoperatively. The mean flexion-extension an¬gle increased from 2.8° to 8.4° at L5-S1, and from 2.6° to 9.8° at L4-5. The overall improvement in the mean flexion- extension angle was 7.2°. Conclusion: Lumbar disc prosthesis offers significant advantages in terms of functional improvement and in¬creased quality of life in the surgical treatment of degen¬erative disc disease.