Cervical disc replacement

That the treated level keeps moving. By not locking it, the extra load that a fusion passes on to the neighbouring discs is reduced. That is the point of a prosthesis, but it only holds up if the condition of the spine is right.

Disc replacement is an established option in patients whose discs are not too degenerated and whose facet joints are healthy. When those conditions are not met, fusion remains the best answer, and I say so plainly: putting a prosthesis into a spine that cannot take one is not preserving movement, it is adding a problem.

Radiculopathy is a problem of a nerve root, the nerve that leaves the spine towards the arm. Myelopathy is a problem of the spinal cord itself. They are two different conditions, and which of the two you have changes both the assessment and the urgency of the decision.

The indications for this technique are cervical disc herniation with radiculopathy and myelopathy from a soft disc at one or two levels. When more levels are involved and the cause is stenosis, the approach is different: options such as cervical laminoplasty come in there.