Lumbar Disc Replacement Surgery Process | Dr. Todd Lanman

I'm often asked for details about lumbar artificial disc replacement surgery. Lumbar is a bit different than cervical disc replacement. The most significant difference is the approach to the spine. With the neck, it is straightforward. With the lumbar, the approach is more complex and requires expert navigation through the front without cutting muscle (a bit no-no) into the abdomen's interior until we reach the spine. All discs are stacked in a column in the front of the spine, so the anterior (front) approach is the only way to reach the discs. Once we reach the discs, the differences between the lumbar and cervical diminish. The lumbar spine bones are thicker and larger than those of the cervical, but the essential physiology is the same, and so is the procedure. We use specialized tools to open the level and clean out the degenerated disc material. We use more specialized tools to center and insert the artificial disc.