Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Cervical | Page 115

CHAPTER 17
CERVICAL DISC
ARTHROPLASTY
(This is the section that explains the detail of the operation or procedure
above and should be read in conjunction with the chapter Your eck
Operation).
A cervical disc arthroplasty is performed for a cervical slipped disc. The rea-
son why your specialist performs this procedure is because there is pressure
on a nerve root that needs to be relieved. The aim of the operation is to
remove the whole of the disc from the front of the neck. The secondary aim
is to preserve spinal movement on that specific level by replacing the disc
with an artificial disc prosthesis.
This operation is performed to prevent the abnormal movement at the adja-
cent disc segments that often occurs after an anterior cervical discectomy
with fusion. A fusion is the traditional way of treating a slipped disc, but there
is a definite movement away from this approach towards the use of a mobile
prosthesis, such as an artificial disc. With a cervical disc replacement, less
biomechanical stress is placed on the rest of the neck, because there is no
fusion and therefore mobility is maintained.
When undergoing this operation you will be lying on your back and the spe-
cialist will be operating from the front. Your skin will be sterilised over the
front of your neck with a combination of iodine and an alcohol solution and
then the area will be covered with sterile drapes. A small incision will be
made in the front of your neck and the tissue will be carefully separated up to
the spine.
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