JAMA Study Finds Disc Replacement More Cost Effective Than Fusion

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published study that suggests cervical total disc replacement (CTDR) is a much more cost effective treatment for two-level symptomatic degenerative disc disease than anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

The study is titled “Cost-Effectiveness of Cervical Total Disc Replacement vs Fusion for the Treatment of 2-Level Symptomatic Degenerative Disc Disease,” and is authored by Jared Ament, M.D., MPH with the UC Davis Health System Neurosurgery Department. Ament and his team used the clinical data from the two-level Mobi-C cervical disc (made by LDR Holding Corporation) vs. ACDF randomized controlled trial in order to assign health states for the patient population. Costs were derived from institutional billing data at the trial sites. Using factors such as measurements of disease burden, the study concluded using a device such as the Mobi-C was preferable, in terms of cost, over the use of fusion procedures.

The study found that CTDR is not only a cost-effective option for 2-level cervical disc disease, but from a societal perspective, it imparts a greater quality of life at less cost over a 4-year period.