Spine Surgeon Robert Berkowitz, MD, at Northeast Ohio’s Center for Orthopedics Now Offers Neck Disc Replacement Surgery


For patients with a herniated or diseased neck disc, neck disc replacement surgery is a new alternative that can help preserve motion in the neck — and may avoid the need for future surgery.

Robert Berkowitz, MD, a board-certified spine surgeon at The Center for Orthopedics in Sheffield Village, Ohio, just west of Cleveland, is the first and only physician in Lorain County and Western Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to perform cervical (upper-spine) disc replacement surgery.

Until now, patients who suffered from a herniated disc in their neck had essentially one surgical choice: surgical removal of the disc — a discectomy — accompanied by a fusion of the vertebrae above and below the removed disc. But spinal fusion surgery has two drawbacks: a restriction of neck motion, and increased wear and tear on the adjacent discs, which could necessitate future disc surgery.

“Disc replacement is intended to maintain a normal range of motion in the neck and may prevent breakdown of the adjacent discs,” says Dr. Berkowitz. “If you fuse one disc, or level, in the spine, the levels above it and below it are exposed to higher forces — so they tend to break down quicker.”

“The theory behind disc-replacement surgery is that if you preserve motion in the level you’re doing surgery on, you will help prevent the increased wearing out of the levels above and below it — and thus help avoid the need for future disc surgery,” he explains.

Nancy Hughes, 45, of Elyria, Ohio, was the first patient of Dr. Berkowitz to undergo cervical disc replacement. “Before my surgery, my neck and shoulders felt like they were on fire,” she recalls. “The pain gradually went down my arms and made my arms and hands numb.”

“My hands were always cold, mostly my left,” says Hughes. “Then I started getting headaches. I got to the point where I couldn’t live with the pain anymore — living on a hot water bottle or a cold pack and taking ibuprofen.”

“What excites me the most about cervical disc replacement is that patients like Nancy who want to maintain motion in their neck have this new option,” said Dr. Berkowitz. “This disc may revolutionize treatment options for surgical patients who normally would only have the option of a motion-restricting process of spinal fusion.”

Dr. Berkowitz performed cervical disc replacement on Hughes, and today she is pain-free. “I feel wonderful,” she says. “My hand isn’t numb or cold anymore. My upper back is not on fire, and I don’t have the headaches.”

And Hughes has a normal range of motion in her neck. “I have full mobility,” she says. “I can turn my head up, down, sideways. It’s just awesome!”

“I’m so glad we didn’t have to go with a spinal fusion,” she adds. “And my insurance covered my surgery.”

How cervical disc replacement works

The new artificial Prestige® cervical disc is inserted into the neck using a technique similar to the one that surgeons use when performing a spinal fusion. A recent clinical trial comparing the clinical outcomes of cervical artificial disc replacement vs. spinal fusion surgery found that the Prestige disc showed superior neurological and overall success.

In the U.S. clinical trial of the Prestige cervical disc, patients who received the disc showed improved neurological success at 24 months and improved overall success. The clinical trial is the largest completed, prospective randomized controlled study of its kind on the cervical spine, enrolling a total of 541 patients.

For more information on neck disc replacement surgery, visit http://www.center4orthopedics.com/procedures/neck-disc-replacement. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Berkowitz, call Northeast Ohio’s Center for Orthopedics at 440.329.2800.

Northeast Ohio’s Center for Orthopedics, with offices in Sheffield Village, Oberlin and Westlake, Ohio, offers complete bone and joint care by five advance-trained, board-certified orthopedic surgeons. Call 440-329-2800 or visit www.center4orthopedics.com for more information.

Landmark Procedure Replaces Damaged Cervical Disc with Artificial Implant

Southlake, TX (PRWEB)

For many people, the phrase “pain in the neck” is nothing to laugh about. A damaged cervical disc in the neck can be debilitating, causing neck, shoulder and arm numbness, tingling, muscle weakness and radiating pain that leads to untold suffering and lost work days.

Now a new medical treatment under clinical investigation, a cervical artificial disc replacement, may offer people with cervical disc disease or injury new hope. During this new procedure, the patient’s damaged natural disc is replaced with an artificial implant.

On Monday, November 21, David Rothbart, M.D., a neurosurgeon and medical director at Spine Team Texas, performed the first cervical artificial disc replacement for this randomized clinical trial in the country at Harris Methodist Southlake Center for Diagnostics and Surgery in Southlake, Texas. Juan Bartolomei, M.D., also a neurosurgeon with Spine Team Texas, assisted in the case.

The procedure is part of a national clinical investigational trial by a leading orthopedic medical company and manufacturer of the cervical artificial disc.

The manufacturer of the cervical artificial disc has partnered with the nation’s leading back and neck surgeons at 25 centers around the country to evaluate whether the cervical artificial disc will alleviate pain and symptoms, restore mobility and improve function for patients with degenerative disc disease or traumatic injury to the cervical area of the spine.

Traditional treatment for a damaged cervical disc always begins with a conservative regimen of medication and nonsurgical treatment such as physical therapy and injection therapy. But when conservative methods fail to address the problem and the patient’s quality of life becomes increasingly difficult, the standard course of action has been to offer surgical spinal fusion.

During a spinal fusion, the vertebrae are fused together, which gives the patient more stability, but causes stiffness and decreased mobility. Although this can be a successful treatment for a pinched nerve in the neck, spinal fusions have the potential risk of transferring or increasing stress on other areas of the spine.

In contrast, the new cervical artificial disc has been designed to enable as closely as possible the normal movement of the natural cervical joint in the spine. It is hoped that it will restore full disc height, which usually has been compressed from the disease or injury.

Spine Team Texas is one of 25 centers in the country participating in the cervical artificial disc replacement study. The study is a prospective, randomized clinical trial of approximately 400 patients who will be randomly selected to receive either the artificial cervical disc replacement or spinal fusion. To qualify as a participant, patients must be between 18 and 65 years of age and meet strict criteria.

Although no cervical disc replacement has been yet approved by the Food & Drug Administration, the advent of artificial disc replacement surgery has often been compared with hip and knee replacement surgery, which is now the standard treatment for many damaged hip or knee joints. Before hip and knee replacement surgery became commonplace, the damaged joint was fused, a process that reduced pain and provided stability, but made movement difficult.

For more information about the research programs at Spine Team Texas, please call Andrea Becicka at Spine Team Texas, 817-749-2141.

About Dr. Rothbart and Spine Team Texas

A board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon, David Rothbart, M.D., is the founder of Spine Team Texas, North Texas’ Premier Regional Spine Center offering diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of neck and back pain. Spine Team Texas uses an integrated team approach and offers long-term solutions for patients’ recovery and rehabilitation.

Dr. Rothbart is a Yale University-trained, experienced neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive surgery of the spine. He was the chief resident in neurosurgery and a clinical instructor at Yale-New Haven Medical Center, a teaching hospital of the Yale University School of Medicine. After completing a fellowship at the prestigious Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, Dr. Rothbart was in private practice in Chicago where he was Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Rush Medical College. He came to the Dallas Metroplex in 2002.

Juan Carlos Bartolomei, M.D., assisted Dr. Rothbart in performing the first surgery in this cervical artificial disc replacement clinical trial on Monday, November 21.

A cum laude graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Bartolomei was also chief resident and a clinical instructor in the department of Neurosurgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. After a fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute, he joined the Yale University School of Medicine faculty as an assistant professor in the department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Bartolomei has received many grants, fellowships and awards, including the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Surgery Honors, a National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Fellowship and the Sandox Recognition of Superior Academic Achievement and Contribution to Health Care Award.

About Harris Methodist Southlake Center for Diagnostics and Surgery

Harris Methodist Southlake Center for Diagnostics and Surgery is a multi-specialty surgical hospital located at 1545 East Southlake Blvd. in Southlake, Texas. Harris Methodist Southlake serves the communities of Northeast Tarrant and Denton Counties.

A 37,800 square foot facility with 6 overnight suites, 4 operating rooms, 1 pain management suite, comprehensive diagnostic imaging services, and a medical office building with physical therapy, breast diagnostic center, and a pharmacy. Surgical services provided include: ENT, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, oral surgery, orthopedics, pain management, plastics, and podiatry. The main phone number for Harris Methodist Southlake is: (817) 748-8700.

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