Lumbar Total Disc Replacement.

Ryu,  Kyeong Sik; Park,  Chun Kun

Review

Korean J Spine 2009;6(4): 251-259.

Lumbar Total Disc Replacement.

Kyeong Sik Ryu, Chun Kun Park

Department of Neurosurgery, The Catholic University, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Spine Center, Seoul, Korea. ckpmd@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

In surgical treatments of degenerative lumbar disc disease, arthrodesis is well known to be a gold standard; however various disadvantages related to elimination of the segmental motion and the procedures of fusion surgery have become a matter of concern. To this end, total disc replacement (TDR) was recently highlighted as one of alternative surgical modalities and being used widely. However, although it has been almost 10 years since lumbar TDR was int- roduced and actively used in the clinic, its clinical usefulness is still in dispute. The authors review and put together the history, biomechanics, and currently available prostheses of lumbar TDR in the present study. Some of the recent preliminary, mid-term and long-term clinical results of lumbar TDR in degenerative lumbar spine diseases are also reviewed. Lastly, we look out over the future prospect of lumbar TDR.

Keywords: Lumbar degenerative diseases;Total disc replacement;Biomechanics;Outcome;Prospect