Am I a Candidate Treatment Options

when cervical disc replacement may be an option

Neck surgery to replace a deteriorated disc with an artificial disc is a good option for some people. Your overall health, your symptoms, and the success of your treatment to date play a part in the determining if disc replacement surgery is a good option for you.

Candidates for Disc Replacement with the Prestige LP™ Cervical Disc

You may be a good candidate for disc replacement surgery. The appropriate type of device and surgical technique will depend on whether you have issues at one cervical level or two adjacent levels.

Treatment with the Prestige LP™ cervical disc may be an option if

• You are an adult (between 21 and 78 years old) and your spinal bones are mature and of good quality.
• You have tried at least 6 weeks of nonsurgical treatment and still have the same symptoms or are getting worse even with the other treatments.
• You have arm pain and/or neurological symptoms such as weakness, numbness, or tingling (with or without neck pain) because of damaged discs at one or two adjacent levels that are irritating:
  • Your spinal cord possibly causing trouble walking (myelopathy) and/or 
  • Your spinal nerve roots possibly causing pain, loss of feeling, loss of movement, weakness, or tingling down your arm and possibly into your hand (radiculopathy)
• You have one or two diseased cervical discs next to each other (between level C3 and level C7) that your doctor has determined require surgery
• Your doctor has confirmed that you need surgery by using diagnostic imaging such as computerized tomography (CT), CT with Myelography (a method of using X-rays and a special dye called contrast material to identify spinal conditions), and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The imaging needs to show at least one of the following at each affected level:
  • The inner part of a disc squeezing through the outer part of the disc (herniated disc);
  • Degeneration of the spine from wear and tear (spondylosis) which may include bony growths (osteophytes) on your spinal bones; and/or
  • Loss of disc height compared to the unaffected levels of the spine above and below the affected levels.

If you think you’re a candidate, talk to your doctor. If you're not a candidate for cervical disc replacement, cervical fusion may be an option for you.

Need help finding a specialist? Use our search tool to locate one near you.

Additional Information

For more information, please refer to the Important Safety Information and the Prestige LP™ patient education brochures, which contain the complete list of indications, warnings, precautions, adverse events, clinical results, and other important medical information.

It is important that you discuss the potential risks, complications, and benefits of the Prestige LP™ cervical disc with your doctor prior to receiving treatment, and that you rely on your physician's judgment. Only your doctor can determine whether you are a suitable candidate for this treatment.

The Prestige LP™ cervical disc should only be used by surgeons who are experienced in cervical disc replacement and who have received adequate training with the device. A lack of adequate experience and/or training may result in a higher incidence of adverse events, which may require additional surgery for correction.