Minnesota medtech titan Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) unveiled 7-year outcomes for patients undergoing artificial disc replacement, saying the procedure resulted in fewer revision surgeries than spinal fusion.
Researchers compared Medtronic’s Prestige cervical disc replacement device with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, reporting that patients in both groups reported pain relief at 7 years but that Prestige patients had higher rates of overall success, improved neurological status, less neck pain and fewer related surgeries.
"In the past several years, the long-term implications of cervical disc replacement have been the subject of much debate," Rush University Medical Center neurosurgery professor Dr. Vincent Traynelis said on behalf of the company. "The 7-year results of this study show that patients receiving cervical disc replacement maintained their clinical improvements and had a significantly lower rate of additional surgical procedures compared to fusion."
Prestige was the 1st of its kind to receive FDA approval to treat single-level cervical disc disease, according to Medtronic. The device is comprised of a "ball and trough mechanism" made of stainless steel. The study results involved 212 patients who received the Prestige disc and 183 who underwent fusion. Both groups reported significant improvements in pain at 1.5 months and out to 7 years.
The news is the latest in a string of recent R&D headlines for Medtronic, including the 1st U.S. implants of its ground-breaking new Activa PC+S brain implant, which monitors and records brain activity while providing mild electrical shocks to treat conditions such as Parkinson’s or essential tremor.
MDT shares were up 1.6% as of about 1:05 p.m., trading at $57.81 per share.