HUNTINGTON, NY…Orthopedic spine surgeons Arnold Schwartz, MD, and Paul Alongi, MD, of Orthopedic Spine Care of Long Island based in Melville, NY, were the first in the United States to participate in a pioneering study taking cervical disc replacement surgery to the next level. Operating at Huntington Hospital, the surgeons recently implanted the investigational Mobi-C® disc, an innovative, second-generation artificial disc designed to provide an additional therapeutic option to maintain motion, in two patients for whom a cervical fusion would have been the standard treatment.

Individuals who are treated for a pinched nerve in the neck often undergo a discectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the damaged cervical disc. This is typically followed by a fusion, in which a piece of bone is surgically inserted into the space between the vertebrae. Once the bones fuse together, the patient may be left with a degree of immobility. This may eventually lead to deterioration of the cervical spine at nearby levels. The goal of artificial disc replacement is to preserve mobility thereby reducing the chances of causing similar disc erosion in other nearby parts of the spine.

Drs. Schwartz and Alongi’s first patient to be enrolled in the investigational study, Joseph McNally, 46, of Kings Park, was the first patient in the United States to receive the Mobi-C device.

 “The Mobi-C is a second generation disc replacement device,” said Dr. Schwartz. “It is the newest device that has entered clinical investigational evaluation studies.”

“We have been selected to be one of approximately 20 different sites nationwide to be involved in this research study,” Dr. Alongi commented.

The possible advantages of artificial discs include a faster recovery time, decreased pain in the neck and/or arm, and reduced symptoms. There is no guarantee that using the Mobi-C prosthesis will produce these benefits.  The current study is evaluating whether or not the Mobi-C prosthesis is better than the devices that are currently FDA approved and available for general use.

“All told, approximately 600 people will be enrolled in this study nationwide,” said study coordinator Rob McCord. “Huntington Hospital is the only Long Island facility to participate in this clinical trial.”

The Mobi-C cervical disc prosthesis is an investigational device and is limited by federal law. The current clinical study was reviewed and approved by the Huntington Hospital Institutional Review Board, the committee that reviews research for the hospital and local physicians.  Patients who enroll are randomized to receive either the standard disc replacement or the Mobi-C prosthesis.

JULY 2006 NEWSLINE