The Spine Center S.C.

"JUMPING BACK INTO LIFE"

Artificial disk relieves chronic back pain:

Climbing the stairs. Reaching for the salt shaker. Bending over slightly to brush his teeth.
At age 39, Ray Mahaffey had a hard time performing these simple movements.
Chronic back pain that resulted from a car accident became so bad he would head straight to bed after work,
unable to make it to his son's T-ball games, let alone the dinner table. "It affected every moment of my life," he says.
"I missed spending time with my young children and wife."
Approximately 80% of Americans experience routine back pain at least once, which often heals naturally within
three months. For many people like Mahaffey, though, a spinal disk is so torn or degenerated that it won't heal, and
chronic back pain ensues.
After attempting several traditional treatments, including medication, physical therapy, cortisone injections and
laser dissection of his inflamed disk, Mahaffey turned to Avi Bernstein, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Advocate
Lutheran General Hospital, for a promising treatment undergoing clinical trial - artificial disk replacement.
"In the past, fusion was the only surgical option to treat patients with a degenerative disk," says Dr. Bernstein.
"Now we have an alternative." The artificial disk is made of chrome and polyethylene, the same tough, flexible material
commonly used in artificial hips and knees. "The flexible disk helps cure back pain without compromising freedom
of movement," explains Dr. Bernstein. "It does so by restoring the space and motion between the vertebrae and
alleviating pressure on the nerves."
Mahaffey was a perfect candidate for the procedure because he has a young, healthy spine and active lifestyle. During
the two-hour procedure, Dr. Bernstein made a small incision below Mahaffey's navel, through which he removed the damaged disk and inserted the artificial one.
Working through the navel instead of the back reduces recovery time since there is no muscle injury.
The disk used in Mahaffey's procedure is one of four artificial disks awaiting Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approval. The FDA began approving the disks last October. Dr. Bernstein is on a short list of doctors who were
trained to implant all four disks by the end of 2004.
Lutheran General Hospital's orthopedic surgeons, who already perform thousands of spinal surgeries each year, are
ready. "I believe artificial disk replacement may become the standard of care for incapacitating low back pain," says
Dr. Bernstein, "and will help many people like Mr. Mahaffey have an active life again."

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