not the impression I get
 

They also use the Mobi-C at ONZ, so not just the M6-C

A very interesting doctorate thesis is linked to this post at the bottom. It compares many of the discs available and discusses 6 degrees of range of motion while also needing limitations in movement to mimic what happens in the the body. The Mobi-C does not limit the movement while the M6-C does limit the movement. This concerns me as the FDA has only approved the Mobi-C for two levels in the U.S. I will speak to a surgeon about this Monday but, I suspect that any surgeon I speak to will never be able to give me a completely unbiased answer because he will be biased towards the devices he has implanted. It seems in general, the surgeon's goal is for a successful surgery more than eliminating pain in the patient. I can't blame them for this because that is what they are trained to do but, hopefully, I will find the right surgeon who can diagnose the source of the pain too!

I spoke to the surgeon's office that completed 6 minimally invasive surgeries on me between 2006 - 2010 yesterday. They still warned me against ADR and think I should come back to them to avoid a more invasive surgery. My response was well you had six chances and I'm still no better than I was before the surgeries. I've lost 9 years of my life to pain. At best, the surgeries only reduced my pain a little for a short period of time and then the cervical spine degenerated more and back came all the chronic issues plus more.

There is no guarantee that I will be in less pain after surgery. All I can do is look at the statistics and weigh the opinion of the surgeon. The first surgeon I saw back in 2006 recommended a two level fusion but, stated he did not think it would alleviate my symptoms. I very much appreciated his honesty. I did not get the fusion. Dr. Bierstedt did not give me a caveat in his quote and opinion re surgery regarding pain as NJ Gene had but, when I spoke to him on the phone about my leg pain and weakness, he could not say that his surgery would fix these problems. Again, I appreciated his honesty. I am very much aware that the pain in my lower body is an atypical symptom so, it may or may not be related to my cervical spine. Nevertheless, I do believe that my cervical spine needs surgery. I intend to explore all options with several surgeons before I decide what to do so, I hopefully do not repeat my experience of having a surgery that does not improve my condition. It's hard to not rush into surgery when living in constant pain, with hope that the chronic pain will be alleviated but, I'm not going to give into the pain and make that mistake. I remind myself everyday that my mind and will power are stronger than my body and the pain I'm experiencing.

http://people.bath.ac.uk/en1tph/thesis.pdf

Cynlite, I couldn't agree with you more on the issue of pain. While I know there is no such thing as a guarantee, I would like to think that if I'm going under the knife, there is a reasonable chance that I will get some degree of relief. I also respect Dr. Bierstedt for his honesty on his disclaimer that ADR might not help my symptoms. I don't necessarily agree with his assessment that I should get ADR anyway (M6 at 2 levels) to prevent further degeneration.

It might be of interest to note that Dr. Bertagnoli gave me a recommendation that I only need just one level, C5/C6, done. It wasn't quite clear what device he would use, but he also made mention of removing the hardware in my neck from my previous fusion. To me that sounds reasonable, because the titanium plate really doesn't do anything once the fusion has taken place. It's just a foreign body that is generally left inside most people, because it doesn't make sense to do surgery solely for the purpose of removing it.

NJ Gene, here are my notes from talking to his US representative:

"Prof. Dr. Bertagnoli has replaced M6's (poorly placed and sized, not failed devices) with Prodisc C Novas. Dr. Rudolf Bertagnoli, the co-inventor of the Prodisc artificial disc; at his private clinic in Straubing, Germany (outside of Munich)"

I didn't move forward getting a consult from him because I favor the M6-C right now for reasons already stated. Since Dr. Bertagnoli is a co-inventor of Pro-Disc, I'll bet that is what he uses on the Lumbar too.

what about heterotopic ossification?
 

First off your US surgeon can't get access to the M6-C and did they not tell you that Pro-Disc has higher rates of HO and Mobi-C has had it too...At least Bierstedt can use an M6 or the Mobi. Once he's in there he has options. It doesn't sound like you US doc does....Just food for thought.

Cheryl, I have not been able to find any data on the M6-C re HO. Have you found any? I posted the HO rates in an earlier post for the other discs. Yesterday, I was reading a report about how the studies for HO may not be large enough for the data to have a great deal of meaning. I'll see if I can find it.

I see a surgeon on Monday and will talk to him about the Mobi-C data. Such a puzzle.

see some links below
 

http://orthopedicstemcellinstitute.c...tion_Techy.pdf

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742005_5

https://www.isass.org/pdf/sas11/2-We...ication/57.pdf

many others show up on serach engines and Harrison has a thread on it too.

U.S. Docs have quite a few options. They just don't have the ability to use the M6 yet. Btw, just because I've ruled out Bierstedt doesn't mean I've ruled out of other surgeons in Europe. I was impressed with Dr. Bertagnoli, who told me I only needed one level of ADR when other surgeons (both in the U.S. and Europe) suggested that I need two. I have no expectation of insurance covering this. If it does, it will be a pleasant surprise.

Cynlite, this looks like a brochure for the M6 with some HO info!

Thank you Cheryl! The first link is helpful.

Thanks Dema! I found this today also which may be of help to people. It is from 2012 and discusses the Pros and Cons of Cervical Disc Anthroplasty.

Cervical disc arthroplasty: Pros and cons Moatz B, Tortolani P J - Surg Neurol Int