artificial disc replacement

@barrm Hello and welcome to Connect. It may be specific to the surgeon that you consult, and my experience at Mayo was with Dr. Fogelson in Rochester. He does do both fusion and artificial discs for cervical spine surgery. You could also call the neurosurgery department and ask who does artificial disc surgery. I chose fusion over ADR for my situation. My fusion is at C5C6 and my movement for head turning is the same as before surgery because this level doesn't do much for head turning. That is mostly C1 & C2 with some help from C4 and C5. If you needed surgery on discs in the C1 to C4 range, that would affect head turning if fused and ADR could help preserve motion there.

thanks for the reply.
This is Rochester, NY? Is he at a particular hospital for me to contact? Neurosurgeon here in Canada indicates c5/c6/c7 would be my fusion options, however, he is hesitant to do it because post surgery more pain is very possible with restricted movement. My facet joints are also a mess apparently.
I have JUST found out about ADR ( not through doctors), but people I know that went to Germany to have it done in their neck and back. No ill effects post surgery with pain relief.

I think Germany has always been the front runner for ADR. The FDA in the US didn't approve them until years later and Medicare still doesn't cover ADR. If I have to spend out of pocket, I'm going to Germany. A friend had L5-S1 ADR in Germany in the 90's, it cured his low backpain.

I have three titanium perforated new disks in my cervical area plus fusion C4-C7. I am 6.5 months post and I have NO sensation of having gone through such a potentially difficult surgery. No pain. No restrictions in head movement (my wife says I now have greater neck movement flexibility). ...I also have three new disks in my lumbar area. I don't have a reference - but my new titanium buddies seem to be doing their trick. And they have not (yet) set-off any TSA magnetometers...

I had a C4 – C5 arthroplasty in April with an ADR. It was outpatient. It was inserted through the front of my throat. I was sent home four hours later, after general anesthesia. I have no problems with range of motion. No pain either.

@barrm I'm sorry I missed your reply. The original Mayo Clinic campus is in Rochester, Minnesota. There are also campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona. When you go to MayoClinic.org, you can see all 3 campuses and look at doctors at each location. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Dr Fogelson is in Rochester, MN. Here is his profile.

I have heard patients say that having issues with facet joints can disqualify a patient for artificial discs. Also if there is instability of around 4mm of slipping of one vertebrae over another, that would disqualify a patient for artificial discs. I had 2 mm of slipping, and wasn't a great candidate for artificial discs and chose a fusion instead. There are some risks with artificial discs that happen to some patients such as immune responses to foreign materials or that the spine can grow bone around and artificial disc to try to stabilize it.

Fusion of C5/C6/C7 does affect forward bending, but head turning is probably about the same as before because that is done mostly by C1 & C2, with some help form C3 and C4.

Can I answer any questions about spine surgery?

thanks. This is helpful information. Sounds like you did some research or listened carefully to your neurosurgeon. The instability measurements is v good information and something for me to ask my surgeon here.
I am having a facet injection in October.....will see how this helps and hopefully and can speak to the neurosurgeon here with more questions ( that you have brought to my attention)

Could you share which doctor you used and which campus ?

@gilkesl - Dr. S. Pirris at Mayo JAX