Drs. Todd Lanman and Jason Cuellar of the ADR Spinal Restoration Center are once again forging new ground with their pioneering efforts in multi-level artificial disc replacement. The first surgeons in the United States to implant prodisc C Vivo at three levels of the cervical spine were Drs. Lanman and Cuellar. In actuality, the surgery was a 4-level ADR. The original prodisc® C was the fourth implanted disc.
The patient is a 76-year-old lady who likes numerous physical activities and is quite active. Her physical functionality was impaired due to spinal cord compression at four cervical levels. Her neck chord compression was so severe that she had trouble walking.
Multiple spine surgeons suggested a 4-level laminectomy and fusion to alleviate the woman’s cord compression due to her advanced age. The lady understood that fusing four spinal levels in her neck would prevent her from engaging in her favourite pastimes, including fundamental tasks like as driving a vehicle. The only surgeons who recommend artificial disc replacement rather than cervical spinal fusion were Drs. Lanman and Cuellar.
Although the prodisc® ADR platform is the most researched artificial disc system in the world and the prodisc® C Vivo has been used outside of the United States for more than a decade, the FDA did not approve the Vivo until the summer of 2022.
Dr. Cuellar recognised that, at three of the four problematic spinal levels, the “keelless” shape of the prodisc® C Vivo would likely be the optimum disc for the woman’s unique anatomy. Instead of keels, which are relatively tall fins on the superior (top) and inferior (bottom) endplates, the prodisc® C Vivo is equipped with small, lateral spikes that offer quick fixation with comparable strength to conventional “keeled” prodisc® devices.
Todd H. Lanman, MD, and Jason M. Cuellar, MD, PhD, are committed to cervical and lumbar spinal motion preservation surgery. They have each written more than thirty publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Lanman is an associate clinical professor at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, is connected with the Institute for Spinal Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and is the founder and director of ADR Spinal Restoration Center in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Cuellar is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, and he has just launched a clinic in Miami and the Palm Beach region of Florida.