@rstark I looked up the TOPS procedure. It's sounds like they are removing part of a vertebrae around the foramen where the nerves exit the spinal cord. Then they put a device there that can move similar to the way the artificial disc can move. They leave your disc in place. What comes to my mind is the question about if there is any spinal cord compression that may be caused by a disc herniation or bone spurs. I think the parameters for this said that it is for use when there is not a herniation. There are stages a disc goes through as it bulges before a herniation happens. It's worth asking what would happen then, if the disc can degenerate further? Does this device provide enough support and take weight off the disc?