I think we all must understand that the excitement generated by the introduction of this new technology, which is being pushed very strongly by the spinal instrumentation companies which stands to profit quite a bit from selling this novel product, have all lead to increase pressure to adopt this technology. As physicians we must do what is proper and appropriate for our patients. Certainly, the early clinical results of the well-controlled studies that were performed in the United States demonstrate very good results with the disc arthroplasty. And certainly, these appear to be at least comparable to patients undergoing fusion surgery. As scientists, we must continue to follow these results in order to completely define the problems that we may encounter and explain fully to our patients that this still remains a novel technology. In addition we must not be narrow-minded and focused only on the spine arthroplasty implants. Rather, we must remember that spinal fusion is a very viable alternative that has well-defined benefits. Currently, comparing all the studies that have been performed, there is no definitive and proven evidence to choosing the arthoplasty over a lumbar fusion. I think that we all hope in the future as we gather more information we may be able to conclusively state that arthroplasty may be superior to fusion.
Until that time, we must certainly keep our minds open to novel technologies and potentially beneficial approaches to treating our patients. And we must also approach this in a stepwise logical manner and continue to gather information. I think this is a very exciting time for spine surgeons with the advent of new technology. We hope this introduces a new era and hopefully better treatment options for our patients.
