Clinical outcomes of two revision strategies for failed total disc replacements

Purpose To compare mid-term clinical outcomes of two revision strategies for patients with failed SB Charité III total disc replacements (TDRs). Methods Eighteen patients with a failed TDR underwent posterolateral instrumented fusion (fusion group); in 21 patients, the TDR was removed and the intervertebral defect was filled with a bone strut graft, followed by an instrumented posterolateral fusion (removal group). Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were completed pre- and post-revision surgery. Intra- and post-operative complications of both revision strategies were assessed. Results Mean follow-up was 3.7 years (range 1.0–6.4) in the removal group and 4.4 years (range 0.7–11.0) in the fusion group. Although the removal group showed a significantly lower VAS and ODI score post-revision surgery as compared to preoperative ( P