Lumbar disk replacement with the ProDisc prosthesis

Abstract

Twenty-two ProDisc II prostheses (Spine Solutions, New York, New York) were implanted in 21 patients with degenerative disk disease at L5-S1 (19 disks) and L4-L5 (3 disks). After mean follow-up of 3.1 years (range, 17-49 months), pain intensity in all but 3 patients had improved from an average of 7.7 preoperatively to 4.6 postoperatively (P< .001) on a visual analog scale. Average Oswestry Disability Index score improved from 61 to 35 (P< .001). Radiographic reconstruction of the disk space height was achieved in all cases. Previous diskectomy at the implanted level and disk degeneration adjacent to previous fusion negatively influenced the results.