Abstract
Sixty-one lumbar disc replacements in 50 consecutive patients were performed between June 2001 and October 2002. The mean age of the patients was 42.42 years (24 to 61). All presented with mechanical back and/or leg pain. The primary diagnosis was degenerative disc disease. Three patients underwent fusions of another level during the same operation. Seven patients presented with adjacent level disc disease after previous instrumented posterolateral fusion.
The mean postoperative hospital stay was 3.6 days (2 to 8). One patient with a double-level disc replacement and misplacement of the proximal prosthesis underwent revision surgery three days later. Six patients had subsidence on one of the endplates, all within six weeks postoperatively. All but one patient went back to their previous occupation at a mean time of 26 days (7 to 91).
Patients completed questionnaires at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months postoperatively. In the latest follow-up questionnaire, 47 patients said they were satisfied or very satisfied. Forty-five patients would undergo the same operation again or recommend it to friends, two patients were uncertain and two indicated they would not undergo the procedure again. One patient from another country was lost to follow-up, but a telephonic enquiry six months after surgery suggested that he was doing well.
Although our follow-up period is short, the clinical results compare favourably to those in the literature. The rate of immediate subsidence, which seems to be linked to the anchoring teeth, is of concern.
The abstracts were prepared by Professor M. B. E. Sweet. Correspondence should be addressed to him at PO Box 47363, Parklands, Johannesburg 2121, South Africa.
