Artificial Disc Replacement or Spinal Fusion: Which is Better For You?

According to the study, the artificial disc replacement is a procedure which is used to treat people with neck and arm pain; the results are the same as with a spinal fusion surgery. The study says that the additional surgery rate is about 2 to 3 times higher with a spinal fusion as compared to the disc replacement. This is the reason that people prefer artificial disc replacement surgery instead of spinal fusion.

Another disadvantage of spinal fusion surgery is that you will not heal or perhaps there are chances of developing pseudoarthrosis. The motion preservation surgery using the artificial disc replacement procedure is the most common type of procedure.

By identifying specific outcomes for both the procedures are approximately equal. The researchers found that the development of adjacent segment degeneration, or ASD after the procedure, recovery time and pain outcomes were all approximately equal between the artificial disc replacement and spinal fusion.

According to the study, the outcomes of artificial disc replacement and fusion surgery for the patients with low back pain, the disc replacement surgery showed more improvements in pain relief and disability than spinal fusion patients. With the spinal fusion surgery, the patient can improve in six weeks, three months, six months and one year. Also, the people who had undergone for the disc replacement returned to their work sooner than the spinal fusion patients.

Why people prefer artificial disc replacement over spinal fusion?

The people prefer artificial disc replacement over spinal fusion because of following reasons and these are:

• Artificial disc replacement is a procedure which has the highest success rates for reducing the lower back pain and increase mobility as compared to spinal fusion surgery.
• Artificial disc replacement surgery is similar to the lumbar fusion procedure which aims to resolve vertebrae injury which is not performed in spinal fusion.
• The people who had undergone for the artificial disc replacement surgery will recover fast as compared to spinal fusion surgery.
• The people need to stay for 2 to 3 days in the hospital after artificial disc replacement; however, in case of spinal fusion, the people need to stay in the hospital for about 7 to 10 days.
• The cost of artificial disc replacement surgery is less as compared to spinal fusion surgery.

Why artificial disc replacement and spinal fusion surgeries are performed?

The surgeons at the hospitals under Spine Surgery India will perform an artificial disc replacement surgery to replace a diseased or degenerative disc. The main aim of performing the artificial disc replacement surgery is to reduce pain and remain the motion of the spine at the same time. An artificial disc replacement is a surgery which has gained great popularity in recent years for treating the disc disease as compared to spinal fusion surgery.

Your surgeon will perform the spinal fusion surgery to improve the stability of your spine, correct a deformity, or reduce pain. Generally, the surgeons at the hospitals under Spine Surgery India perform the spinal fusions when a fracture has occurred on your spine, severe disc degeneration is present, moderate to severe scoliosis, a slipped vertebrae or when your spine becomes weak due to an infection or a spinal tumour.

The surgeons at the hospitals under Spine Surgery India also recommend the artificial disc replacement than spinal fusion to get relief from pain.

Why artificial disc replacement is a better option?

The following factors make the artificial disc replacement as a better option than spinal fusion and these are:

• Earlier the people dealing with arm pain, shoulder pain or neck pain for them the traditional surgical approach was the spinal fusion surgery, however, with the advancement in medical science today there is a better option which is artificial disc replacement.
• Spinal fusion is a procedure which only provides relief from pain and is an approach that has proven successful in the past, but now the artificial disc replacement has taken place and this is a procedure which is quickly outstripping the treatment of choice.
• In artificial dis replacement, the surgeon will make a small incision in the front of the neck and move the internal structures which allow your surgeon to access the area which had been damaged or degenerated. Your surgeon will remove the diseased disc and place the artificial disc and will close the incision. However, in spinal fusion, the surgeon will fuse the two or more vertebrae together which can prevent the patient moves and this can leads to more pain.

Above are the factors which attain the attention of many people to undergo for the artificial disc replacement over spinal fusion.

Tags: Artificial Disc Replacement, Artificial Disc Replacement india, Spinal Fusion, Spinal Fusion Surgery India