The history of Prodisc®

The Prodisc concept was developed in the late 1980’s by Dr. Thierry Marnay, a French orthopedic surgeon.  In early 1990, Dr. Marnay and another surgeon started implanting a series of Prodisc implants in the lumbar spine.  A total of 64 patients received an implant between 1990 and 1993, and then followed up to evaluate the performance of Prodisc. 

 

A retrospective analysis of 58 of the original 64 patients showed the following results 7 to 11 years postoperatively:

 

–	Significant decrease in: - Low back pain - Lower limb pain - Impairment scale
–	All implants were intact
–	Ninety-one percent of the patients report they were entirely satisfied or satisfied with the procedure.

 

Based on the long-term results of this 7- to 11-year study, the Prodisc-L total disc replacement was launched and has been in clinical use since 1999. More than 30,000 implantations have been performed worldwide. European publications show good to excellent results with the Prodisc-L, including low complication rates and fast rehabilitation times. A United States IDE study application was approved in July 2001. Most recently, the Prodisc-L total disc replacement was approved for use in the United States based on the results of a randomized, prospective, multi-center IDE clinical study.  The Prodisc-L total disc replacement is clinically proven to maintain motion in the spine.