New Artificial Disc Transforms
Spine Surgery at Valley Hospital
|  Rear view of the lumbar spine implanted with the CHARITÉ™ Artificial Disc, the first artificial disc approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of single level degenerative disc disease. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPUY SPINE INC. |
"The artificial disc is made of metal and plastic, and it moves much like a normal disc does," Dr. Thalgott says. "This is cutting-edge technology that will change the way we treat back pain in younger patients who don't have arthritis in the joints surrounding their discs."
In the past, surgeons typically treated painful and degenerative discs by fusing them together. This procedure, however, limited patients' movement, and patients faced months of recovery.
Now, surgeons can replace the diseased disc in a way that is similar to total knee and hip replacement procedures. They use specially designed instruments to remove the disc and replace it with the artificial disc. Patients who undergo disc replacement surgery spend less time in the hospital, recuperate more quickly and can move their spine more naturally.
Dr. Thalgott was a member of the team that designed the instruments used to remove the abnormal disc and place, center and assemble the artificial disc in the spine. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late October.
"We designed an advanced set of instruments that make this procedure easier, more predictable and more effective," says Dr. Thalgott.
For more information about disc replacement surgery, please visit our Web site at www.valleyhospital.net.
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The Valley Health System c/o Valley Hospital Medical Center 620 Shadow Lane Las Vegas, NV 89106 |
