TY - JOUR T1 - Cervical Disc Arthroplasty: Rationale and History JF - International Journal of Spine Surgery JO - Int J Spine Surg SP - S5 LP - S13 DO - 10.14444/7086 VL - 14 IS - s2 AU - Peter B. Derman AU - Jack E. Zigler Y1 - 2020/08/01 UR - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/s2/S5.abstract N2 - Biomechanical studies have demonstrated that cervical fusion results in increased motion and intradiscal pressures at adjacent levels. Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) is an alternative treatment for cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy resulting from degenerative disc disease. By maintaining segmental motion, surgeons hope to avoid some of the primary drawbacks of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), such as pseudoarthrosis and adjacent segment disease. First introduced in the 1960s, CDA has evolved over the years with changes to implant geometry and materials. Early devices produced suboptimal outcomes, but more recent generations of implants have shown long-term outcomes rivaling or even surpassing those of ACDF. In this article, the rationale for CDA as well as the history of such devices is reviewed. ER -