ADR in Chicago

[Rev. Zen]

I am looking into possibly participating in a clinical trial. If I am deemed to be a candidate, I would have either the Charite' or the Active-L device implanted in my L5-S1 region (not sure if my jargon is correct).

The trial is being held at RUSH Medical Center and would be administered by Dr. Deutsch. Since I am still researching this treatment and others, I am hoping that I can find answers to a few of my questions here:

1. Can someone offer any background information regarding Dr. Deutsch?
2. How do Charite' and Active-L compare to the next generation artificial discs such as the Freedom Lumbar Disc?
3. Are there any downsides to participating in clinical trials? From my perspective, I get a free ADR performed and the only "cost" is that I have follow up visits to the doctor for the next 5 years (which would most likely be a prudent measure even if I were paying for this out of my own pocket).
4. How likely is it that ADR could result in retrograde ejaculation?
5. I have read that the surgery would keep me in the hospital for ~3 days. How long would it be before I could return to work? I have an office job where I sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day.
6. I had a surgeon explain that the reason I have DDD is due to a genetic condition where my lower most disc never formed at birth and the two vertabrae fused around that time. The adjacent disc (L5-S1) has basically been performing double duty my whole life and is now calling it quits. The surgeon stated to me that this condition occurs in 1 out of 10 people. I never caught the name he gave this condition, but I wanted to see if anyone else might be familiar with this.
7. Is it possible to participate in a clinical study if it is not in your area?
   
   Any info is greatly appreciated.

[dshobbies]

Hi Rev Zen and welcome to the forum,

I'm not as well informed as some others on this forum but here's my contribution,

1.?
2. The Charite was the first disc approved by the FDA. It is an uncontrainted device and many think it inferior to all the others. However, with only one disc, if you can get into trials, it may not be all that bad.
3. Participating in trials can be quite beneficial if you don't object to the Charite.
4. ?
5. Most are able to return to work in about 3 months, perhaps even 2 if you're recovery is fantastic. However, you also might find recovery slow and/or find sitting difficult.
6. Not sure but I think you may not have understood correctly. S1/L5 is the bottom disc. Doing double duty for a lower disc????
7. Yes, participating in an out of state trial is entirely possible. You will incur travel and hotel expenses.

Please keep us posted and good luck, Dale

[cavalier]

Rush itself ovberall has a VERY GOOD reputation. You can look at Dr Deutsch's Bio on their website if you have not already. He does have experience with ADR's prob. Charite being the longer one but the principal is somewhat similar for the overall surgery generally speaking - although some implants require more distraction than another perhaps. The point being he has ADR experience.
Dr An is up there & he has written many publications with Dr Bertangoli. Read up on the devices by googling the names.
Jill