[Comparison of three types of lumbar total disc arthroplasty. Four-year minimum follow-up]

Total lumbar disc replacement was developed to avoid the drawbacks of arthrodesis. This procedure should be done cautiously due to the various already known complications. The purpose of this study is to assess the clinical and radiographic results after single-level lumbar arthroplasty with the Prodisc-L, Maverick and Charité prostheses at our service.

A retrospective study was performed comparing the clinical and radiographic results of three groups of patients who underwent total lumbar disc arthroplasty from January 2000 to December 2007.

Twenty-one lumbar prosthetic surgeries were performed. The Prodisc device was used in 13 patients, the Maverick in 4, and the Charité in 4. After the application of the Stauffer-Coventry scale, 16 patients reported excellent results and 5 good results. The mean preoperative interbody height was 7.9 mm and the mean postoperative height was 12.91 mm. The mean differential angle in the dynamic films was 5.47 degrees preoperatively and 4.61 postoperatively; the mean angle in neutral position was 13.38 preoperatively and 19.61 postoperatively.

This study showed that the clinical result was good in all three groups. Mobility was better maintained with the Charité prosthesis compared to the Prodisc and Maverick devices. The three prostheses are appropriate for the treatment of lumbar degenerative disc disease.