Dr. Bertagnoli Question

[Michelle Maree]

Does anybody know if Dr.Bertagnoli will put in an artificial disc other than a prodisc if requested?

Thanks
Michelle.

[jchebert1979]

I think he uses a variety of discs. The discs that each doctor use are the discs that they are the most comfortable with and have trained to put in. If you request a disc that he has not trained to put in he will not use it.

Do you have another disc in mind? If you do what are the advantages or disadvantages over the prodisc? I know that the Bryan has been recently approved here in the states and offers advantages over prodisc but I'm not sure if Dr. B uses it.

[KenG]

Hi, it's my first post.

Is there a thread or list to tell us advantages and disadvantages of
artificial discs ?
if you know would you tell ?

thanks.

[jchebert1979]

There is no one thread that I know of that is dedicated to discussing the advantages vs. disadvantages. Using the search option for that would be very beneficial.

In short what type of spine issue you have determines the advantages or disadvantages of ADR's. Basically the advantages are preservation of normal motion of the spine and less risk of adjacent discs being damaged. The disadvantages are that there are not many long term studies on ADR's so nobody really knows what is going to happen 25 years down the line.

I hope this helps. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will come along and answer.

[trkdoc714]

From my understanding, Dr. Bertagnoli is a shareholder in the company that developed the ProDisc. Although his website offers implantaions of other discs, I'd imagine he promotes the ProDisc above all others.

[KenG]

thanks.

I keep learning from information in internet.

KenG