Resumen de Prosthetic Total Disk Replacement: Can We Learn from Total Hip Replacement?

H. Michael Mayer, Christoph J. Siepe

• Total lumbar disk replacement has become a routine procedure in many countries. However, discussions regarding its use are ongoing. Issues focus on patient selection, technical limitations, and avoidance or management of complications or long-term outcomes. A review of the development of this technology, since the development of the first successful implantation of a total lumbar disk prosthesis in 1984, shows an amazing analogy to the history of total hip replacement. This article is a one-to-one comparison of the evolution of total hip and total lumbar disk replacement from ?skunk works? to scientific evidence.