New disk replacement for neck problems

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CLEVELAND: MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio is offering a new

option to people suffering from herniated discs in the neck.

Melinda Hild's neck problems started three years ago while she was moving a

couch.

It slipped and dropped right on top of her head.

She developed a herniated bulging disc in her neck that made simple tasks like

spreading peanut butter difficult.

" I couldn't turn my neck. I'd get bad shooting pains down both of my arms, "

Melinda says.

As the degeneration became worse, she eventually lost her mobility.

She went to MetroHealth where Dr. Roseanna Lechner is performing disc

replacement surgery.

" You do the same procedure that you would for the fusion, removing the disc, but

you replace it with an artificial disc and the idea behind that is to maintain

motion at that segment [of the neck], " Lechner says.

After the surgery, Melinda could get around by the next day.

She didn't even need a neck brace.

Lechner says neck fusion surgery typically causes degenerative problems above

and below the fusion site, eventually requiring more surgery years later.

She hopes disc replacements avoid that problem.

" If you maintain normal motion, hopefully you maintain normal motion above and

below it as well. " Lechner says.

Melinda has small bone structure and believes that's probably why she still has

some pain, but she says it's improving.

She can finally move around without difficulty and play with her children.

The FDA approved the disc last July.

Currently, the surgery is not covered by most insurance plans because it's still

considered experimental.

But Lechner says a two-year study showed disc replacement patients had less neck

pain than fusion patients and returned to work faster.