Prices in Germany are normally 75% below the cost for a lumbar artificial disc replacement surgery in the US and are individually quoted. These cost savings are especially realized in multi-level lumbar artificial disc replacement.Costs / prices include all medical expenses, the hospital stay, surgeon's fees, operation room fees, anesthesia, anesthesiologist's fees, medicine, nursing, private room, meals, pre-op diagnosis, local phone and English TV.
Degenerative disc disease and post-laminectomy syndrome in the lumbar spine are most common diagnoses, which lead to lumbar artificial disc replacements surgery. However, suffers should try at least 6 months of conservative treatment before surgery is contemplated. These treatments can help with the pain. It is only when the conservative treatment no longer helps should surgery be considered.
The FDA says ADR surgery can be performed on the l3/4, l4/5 and l5/s1 disc. However, highly skilled surgeons, such as Dr. Rudolf Bertagnoli, can insert the ADR at the l1/2 and l2/3 levels, depending on the anatomy of the patient. There is no upper limit on age for this surgery in Germany. However, young adults who are still growing should not have this surgery.
Patients who have ankylosing spondylothesis, a high level of facet arthrosis, are pregnant, radiculopthy only, idopathic scoliosis, spine infections, , and/or spondylothesis greater than grade one are not candidates for this surgery.
Today, there are many different types of lumbar artificial disc replacements available in Europe. The selections are much more limited in the US and the US usually limits ADR surgery to one level, where it is quite common to have multiple-level ADR surgery. Different designs have different strengths and weaknesses and the patient should visit a doctor, who uses many types for the best results.
Current lumbar discs available in Europe are the:
At the time of this writting, only the Charite and ProDisc are currently FDA approved for use in the USA. This is a consideration when choosing the type of disc for your surgery as follow-up may be easier to find in the US or Canada with an FDA approved lumbar artificial disc replacement device.