- Maintains normal range of motion of the cervical spine:
Patients love that their neck feels mobile and moves freely immediately after surgery.
- There is less risk of one of the disks above or below the surgery degenerating:
This means fewer people will require a second procedure 10 or 15 years down the road. With the fusion, the chance of needing another surgery is probably about 10 to 15%. With the replacement, it could be as little as 5%!
- No bone graft and no fusion mean the ability to go back to activities much earlier!
Because we’re not waiting for a fusion to occur there are no limitations in the postoperative protocol. You can move your neck freely immediately after surgery and start to resume your activities as soon as you are physically comfortable. Many times physical therapy is not necessary for these reasons.
Overall the patients love that their neck feels natural and that their pain is gone almost immediately. The rapid return to function makes the procedure extremely rewarding for our patients and also for Dr Z!