Medtronic may have a great device, but...

[mmglobal]

Richard, one of the constants through my ordeal was endless spin. Even from the docs that I trusted, much of what I got was marketing hype. Charite' docs talk about endplate destruction from the keel. ProDisc docs talk about the keel arresting rotational forces. I still believe what I have been saying for years. Each of the different features on all the devices come with advantages AND disadvantages. Unfortunately, we can't tell which ones are important to us unless we are on the wrong side of a failed surgery. All of the devices will work well, properly implanted in a properly selected patient. All may be problematic if improperly implanted, or in an improperly selected patient.

What I see in that article is Maverick spin presented by a Maverick surgeon.

Send me an email and let me know when you will be in Europe. Maybe I'll see you there.

mark

[lisa]

I think you also have to remember that the surgeons are getting the marketing spin as well. And surgeons may not necessarily have training in statistics, experimental design to completely evaluate the clinical data they get from the company. Some doctors are great scientists but it's not a given. (The orthopedic surgeon hired by my work comp insurer actually made an arguement that depended on the earth lacking a gravitional field, for example.)

I don't want to completely dis doctors, obviously it takes excellent deductive and pattern recognition skills to be a good doctor, it's just that it a slightly different skill set than being a scientist. And it's good to take that into account when get clinical data presented to you by a doctor.

I've only been on this board today so I'm still looking through all the posts to gain more info. I understand it's an old topic but I was amazed when I came across it.
I'm constantly looking for info to help in my decision to have a fusion or ADR for L5/S1. I came across this article and to some extent, it had me becoming "anti-Charite". After reading these posts, I definitely need to change my attitude and be more open minded, especially after reading other success stories w/ Charite.

[David]

kk,

Welcome to the forum!

One thing to keep in mind is that (generally) the people that who post here are:

a. Pre-operative people searching for answers [this would be me]
b. Recent Post-operative people reporting on their surgery.
c. Post-operative people reporting in on their long-term negative results.

In many cases, the people who pursued ADR and had high levels of success tend to move on with their lives and away from the forum.

That all being said, welcome to the wondeful discussion concerning which disc is "better"! [presuming that you have made the decision of fusion versus ADR]

David

[letteski]

KK

Welcome and David is right this is just a small group of people that visit here. I was in your shoes 6 months ago when I found ADR-support.

I am so happy with my decision to go with ADR over Fusion and ProDisc over Charite. It was a long process but ultimately I came to this decision with the help of many from this board.

No one told me what I should do I read a lot and gatherer information spoke personally with many and then came to the decision and just know that it was the right one for me. You will know too just keep asking questions, read as much as you can and you may want to introduce yourself in the �Big Bucket� This helps others to know where you are coming from.

Good Luck,

[luvmysibe]

This swirling issue of debate regarding disc manufacturers and developers causes me to think in terms of the political arena. Before selecting a candidate or proposition see who and/or what is providing the funding, support, etc. behind the scences. For me, the Charite was the right choice. Isn't it wonderful that we have options!

Crystal

[Kim]

I just saw a very interesting segment on Discovery Health about helping back pain. I was hoping that they would include something about ADR on it but did not.
One thing I did glean from this is that the surgeons who tout and do work for certain companies are "reimbursed handsomely" from the companies that they do work for and implant their devices. Now this was reported on surgeons that were implanting bak cages but I am sure the same thing goes on for ADR surgeons also.
This worried me to some extent and after seeing so many doctors tout one disc over another it makes sense that if they are being reimbursed for their services etc that they would have vested interest in seeing these devices succeed!
I have asked the same questions in the past about how do you decide one disc over another and have finally come to the conclusion that I must research as much as I can and find out all I can and then take a "leap of faith" and do what i feel will work best for my body if my insurance company will ever cooperate or I win the Powerball lol.
Anyway just wanted to interject that so we can all take what a Medtronic dr states with a grain of salt. I am sure he is being well taken care of for dissing the Charite disc.
And this is just from a laypersons view but I have not seen very good stats or results from the Maverick disc. This is just my research. It could very well be because it has not been in use as long as the Charite or Prodisc.
Bottom line is find out for yourself! Do not trust one article over another. Do lots of research and then decide for yourself with a dr that you trust what is best for you!

Kim, I'm curious to know what you have found out about the Maverick.

[Kim]

KK what I have learned I have talked to people who have had Mavericks done in the past 2 years also have done a lot of internet research. I dont have links to give you but I am sure you can find the same things if you will search the archives here on Mavericks and do some internet searches.
I am not trying to dis the Maverick but from what I have seen and heard the results of the surgeries were not nearly as good as those of the Charite and Prodisc. Now whether this is due to the surgeon, its length of exsistence, its number of implants in people, I honestly dont know.
I do remember that there were some design things in the Maverick that I was not as impressed with as others.
Just my 2 cents.
As stated above do your own research. My head hurts from all I have done and no where nearly finished yet

[Harrison]

I am glad this thread has had some interesting & helpful updates, thx for the insights and sharing.