Cervical degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of neck and arm pain.

Made by Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Prestige Cervical Disc is the first artificial cervical (neck) disc for the treatment of cervical degenerative disc disease.

Now, the FDA has approved this novel medical device for marketing.

The cervical spine (neck region) consists of seven bones (called the vertebrae), which are separated from one another by intervertebral discs. These discs allow the neck to bend and rotate.

The current surgical treatment involves removing a diseased or bulging disc in a patient's neck and fusing two or more bony vertebrae. The Prestige Cervical Disc would instead replace the impaired natural disc.

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[In Photo: The PRESTIGE Cervical Disc consists of two main pieces of stainless steel that articulate against one another with a ball and trough (groove). After a doctor removes the impaired natural disc, the artificial disc is attached to the adjacent vertebrae with bone screws.]