Upper thoracic spine arthroplasty via the anterior approach

Significant progress has been made in lumbar and cervical disc replacement therapy. Several cervical disc prostheses have recently gained FDA approval. Although arthroplasty has not been previously described in the thoracic spine, selected patients with long-segment fusion to the level of C-7 have altered cervicothoracic and upper thoracic biomechanics and may benefit from motion-preservation therapy for T1-2 disc herniation. Currently, FDA-approved prostheses are indicated only for patients with single-level degenerative disc disease between C-3 and C-7 and no history of cervical arthrodesis. The authors describe a 52-year-old woman who had previously undergone C3-7 fusion and returned 4 years later with symptoms of C-8 myeloradiculopathy and radiological evidence of T1-2 degenerative disc disease. She underwent T1-2 arthroplasty in which a Prestige artificial cervical disc was placed via an anterior cervicothoracic approach. Motion at C7-T1 and T1-2 was preserved, and the patient made an excellent clinical recovery.