A spiral implant as nucleus prosthesis in the lumbar spine

Microdiscectomy represents the gold standard in disc surgery on the lumbar spine. The remaining defect in the intervertebral disc space can be filled with a newly developed nucleus prosthesis presented in this paper. This prosthesis consists of polycarbonate urethane (Sulene(TM) PCU), and takes the form of a memory coiling spiral. It can be easily implanted using the standard microdiscectomy approach with no further tissue damage. Biomechanical tests have shown that anatomical distances can be restored by the spiral for both the facet joints and the endplates. Endplate deformations are not statistically different when compared to intact conditions. Inclusion and exclusion criteria of an in vivo pilot study are presented. The paper describes the insertion setup for the spiral and the technique of implantation. Five patients have been supplied with the implant to date. The first results on postoperative magnetic resonance images are presented.