The study was designed to observe the patients emotional and physical response to total disc replacement surgery in the cervical spine. A prospective cohort study of patients undergoing Cervical total disc replacement (TDR) surgery at our institution. Surgery was carried for radicular and or axial neck pain. The Activ-C TDR (Aesculap) was used. Pre and post operative data was collected using validated questionnaires. 13 Consecutive patients from Nov 2007 to Aug 2008 were studied. All patients were planned for surgical intervention for symptomatic degenerative cervical disc disease at single or multiple levels. 7 male, 6 female. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess the psychological impact. The Neck Disability Index (NDI) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to assess the physical impact of the surgery. NDI shows a significant improvement at 6 and 12 months (p= 0.002 and p=0.02 respectively). The VAS also shows significant improvement at 6 and 12 months (p=0.004 and 0.008 respectively) The CES-D improved but failed to show any significant improvement at either interval. In our patient population surgical intervention with TDR for degenerative disc disease offers significant physical benefit over the short term. This does not correlate with an improvement in their emotional state.
