Soljagal,
All of the differences from one device to the next come with advantages and disadvantages. I believe that for most 'average' cases, if you are a good candidate and get a good job done, all of the current crop of discs are likely to succeed. I don't want to speak for Bertagnoli... I'll just say that the doctors who prefer ProDisc embrace the greater stability that the more more constrained designs offer.
For me, I choose ProDisc-C because my construct will include 3 artificial discs and will span 4 levels. I believe that the stability issues are of greater importance in big multi-level procedures and also when there is instability present.
I have a surgery date... end of January. I was hoping that I'd go back to "I'm too functional now to consider surgery", but the flight home from Germany last week flared me up and I'm still pretty bad. I'm convinced about the increased symptoms and their relationship to the discs indicated by discography. I'm convinced about 'sooner better than later' for the pathology we see on the imaging... it's going to get worse and my chance of success is greater before the DDD advances further.
Thanks to all the well-wishers for your support!
All the best,
Mark
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