What's your experience with Vertiflex Superion Implant?

Posted by esperanza22 @esperanza22, Jul 27, 2020

Has anyone had the Veriflex Superion implant. I had it and it did not seem to work for me. Would appreciate any one that has information. Thanks

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I had it done and they were not able to insert one of the two Vertiflexes. That night I could hardly walk because I had such nerve pain which I did not have before. I then got relief from having a spinal fusion by an Orthopedic Surgeon two months after. Please do not try the Vertiflex.

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@tiggerbaby1

I had it done and they were not able to insert one of the two Vertiflexes. That night I could hardly walk because I had such nerve pain which I did not have before. I then got relief from having a spinal fusion by an Orthopedic Surgeon two months after. Please do not try the Vertiflex.

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I had two vertiflex implants in l4 and l5 it did absolutely nothing for me
I believe it's a scam for people like me who try to take the easy way out
I've been trying to find a Pearson it worked for ??

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I had it and it didn't work. Now one of the Spacers has turned sideways and needs to be removed. I'm trying to find someone that can share their experience with this removal surgey.

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@painfulback

I had it and it didn't work. Now one of the Spacers has turned sideways and needs to be removed. I'm trying to find someone that can share their experience with this removal surgey.

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I've had two of these put in my back they absolutely did nothing I have to go back now and get an x-ray to see why when you was moved to the create pain I'll let you know how my x-ray turns out

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@1mysfyt

There are several (I THINK) good surgeons in this area, even though I distrust doctors and don't have much respect for them/ got burned too many times. I can't travel because my cat needs her heart meds every day anyway. Just need to know if I can do without any help...THANK YOU!

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boston scientific has a website http://www.pain.com that lists doctors in your area that are qualified to do the vertiflex procedure as a retired pharma/medical equipment sales rep i am surprised after being on the market for 5 years very few doctors recommend this procedure considering how many people have back issues

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@sjs1951

I had two vertiflex implants in l4 and l5 it did absolutely nothing for me
I believe it's a scam for people like me who try to take the easy way out
I've been trying to find a Pearson it worked for ??

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there are one or two people on facebook who say it has helped the other 6 patients said it made them worse or no improvement at all

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I am 62 years old, never had any previous surgery to my spine and I am not over weight and in pretty good overall general health.
In early August I met with a pain specialist in NW DC to assess my MRI to see if I was a candidate for the Superion Vertiflex implant. He quickly said I was and offered to schedule an appointment for the procedure. I was taken back of his eagerness to sign me up, even after I handed him my MRI on CD and asked him to review it and give me his opionion regarding the scoliosis noted on the MRI. He didn't do that, instead he said he reviewed the notes on the MRI and they were good. He offered to give me two epidural injections and sent me on my way.
I met with a new doctor today to answer the same questions I had for the other doctor in NW DC that were not. Before I even had a chance to ask him any questions he said I was not a good candidate for the Superion Vertiflex implant, primarily because of my scoliosis. He explained that the MRI showed their was forward slippage of L5 and backward slippage of L4. This was a big question that I needed answers to because my MRI notes mentioned slippage, and I didn't know how relevant this would be to a successful or unsuccessful procedure.
This doctor was honest, polite and offered other solutions to manage my pain and spine problems. We are now looking at a different approach that includes injections to the area that is causing me pain while I proceed with physical therapy to strengthen the core muscles in my abdomen and back.
The best advice I can offer to anyone considering this procedure, if you have not received the study results of your MRI, please get them and read every single word of them. If the medical terminology trips you up, do what I did and google it; "what is grade 1 anterolisthesis" and you will know what anterolisthesis is and ask your doctor if this may impact a successful procedure. I did this on every single word that I did not understand how this might negatively impact this procedure. And surprisingly, many of the low to moderate notes were mentioned in the caution notes that this procedure may not be ideal.
In my case, even though grade 1 anterolisthesis seems low, and is in the range of what Bioscientific might find acceptable, it indicated there was slippage of the L4 and L5, which would increase the risk of the implant dislodging or slipping out of place. This has been mentioned several times on this forum, which is why I am posting this information.
I wanted to share this with anyone who is considering the Vertiflex procedure to do your homework. I believe this is a good choice for patients who do not have scoliosis and are not experencing issues with slippage of the vertebrae. But, please take time to try to understand every word on the the MRI and don''t be quick to accept a doctors opinion that you are a candidate for it. If you otherwise have a healthy spine that is not compromised in anyway, this may be right for you. Before you sign up, no matter what your age, please get the notes from your MRI and google everything on it. Then go to the Boston Scientific website and read the contraindications which spell out when the procedure should not be performed. This new doctor didn't even give me a chance to bring it all up, he could tell I was not a good candidate and suggested other options to help my body heal without risk.

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@berniej1

hank,
I am new to this forum and the best I can see is that most of the posts are threee years old. It seems that a lot of those who have posted have had failed procedures. There can be numerous reasons why they did not have positive results, but as I try to decipher why did their procedures fail, here is what I am observing.
Many have had prior surgeries, such as laminectomy or fusion. Many were diagnosed as "severe" spinal stenosis and turned to the vertiflex as an option that was never available prior to their surgeries.
In 2023, BioScientific and the FDA are not recommending the vertiflex implant for patients who have this type of history.
Myself, age 62, moderate spinal stenosis, no prior history of any surgeries and minimal injections (2) to relieve pain. However, I do have "mild" scoliosis in my middle/upper spine. This concerned the orthopeodic and neurosurgeon I consulted with and both did not offer optomistic outcomes for surgery, one being spinal fusion, the other spinal lamenectomy. The neurosugeon of course said he could correct the scoliosis with surgery (rods and screws) after the lamenectomy. The orthopeodic, totally not optomistic, even though the MRI, stated "MINOR" barely significant. Needless to say, I did not say sign me up to either.
I would love to have more recent feedback from forum members that are more like me, and not in advanced spinal stenosis or have a fragmented spine due to injections or surgeries.
Do you have any more recent input from forum members who have had the procedure done with success? If anyone out there reading is is that person, please reply.

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Now in week 5 of post-procedure. Beginning physical therapy next week. Had a basketfull of symptoms the past 10 months and had hip joint and muscle injections with little relief. After doctors determined it was a nerve problem an mri indicated pinching between L2 and L3. Presently I have reduced and intermittent nerve pain of the left hip and upper left leg. I'm sure that is the nerve/muscle interaction getting reacquainted. No back pain at all. What pain I have is significantly less than before the procedure. I was told it takes 3 months for final results and I believe they will improve.

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@esperanza22

I just had it three weeks ago, It is in one place. So far the relief I obtained is that when I get up in the morning, I used to buckle under and limp. I still get a pain on my right side like I used to. My foot still gets numb, I thought it would help that, will be going to a foot doctor next week. I have severe spinal stenosis, so I tried this as I will not have surgery. I am going to my doctor in a day or so, will keep u posted. The brochure says not to bend or twist for 6 weeks. Thank you for your post.

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What is it? Where is it placed?

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I am seriously considering this treatment. I have DDD L5S1 with pain in lower back and pain radiates down both legs. Orthepedic surgen recommends fusion, looking at less envasive techniques. I have a appt November 14th for eval for Veritex Superion. Will let you know if it helps.

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