History
Artificial disc surgery is still relatively new in the United States, but has been used in Europe for more than 15 years.
The first device approved for use in the United States was the Charite artificial disc. Invented at Charite University Hospital in Berlin in the mid-1980s by the East German scientist, two-time Olympic champion in women's artistic gymnastics Karin Büttner-Janz and Kurt Schellnack, the disc received FDA approval in the United States in October 2004, following a four-year clinical trial.
The first surgeon to perform a Charite artificial disc surgery in the United States was Scott Blumenthal, M.D., a spine surgeon at Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas. Blumenthal served as principal investigator for the Charite study in the US.
Dr. Rudolf Bertagnoli helped to develop Pro Disc and its surgical technique in Europe and has taught more than 2,500 surgeons how to perform the procedure.
Read more about this topic: Intervertebral Disc Arthroplasty
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