SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2017
Total disc replacement versus fusion for lumbar degenerative disc disease: a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.
Synthesis in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT06989632 (Total Lumbar Disc Prosthesis and Subsequent Work Activity 5 Years After Total Lumbar Disc Replacement), which is not on this map. Cited by 38 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Total Lumbar Disc Prosthesis and Subsequent Work Activity 5 Years After Total Lumbar Disc Replacement
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Platelet-Rich Plasma vs. Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Lumbar Disc Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Decompression alone versus decompression with fusion in the treatment of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis: evaluating the overlapping meta-analyses.Neurosurgical review · 2026Pooled it
- Advanced meta-analyses comparing the three surgical techniques total disc replacement, anterior stand-alone fusion and circumferential fusion regarding pain, function and complications up to 3 years to treat lumbar degenerative disc disease.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2021Pooled it
- Common elective orthopaedic procedures and their clinical effectiveness: umbrella review of level 1 evidence.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Total disc replacement compared with fusion for cervical degenerative disc disease: A systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation in lumbar fusion: A systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Lumbar total disc replacement: predictors for long-term outcome.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2018Trial
- A preliminary feasibility study of a tough hydrogel as a nucleus pulposus substitute for degenerative disc disease.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Clinical Outcomes and Safety of Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Overlapping Meta-Analyses.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2026Article
- Vertebral Body Tethering for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Quality of Evidence and Recommendations From a Systematic Overview of Systematic Reviews in Literature.International journal of spine surgery · 2025Article
- Bringing Back Theorizing Medical Hypotheses to Spine Surgery Research in an Age of Overreliance on Randomized Controlled Trials.International journal of spine surgery · 2025Article
- Article
- Bioactive Therapies for Degenerative Disc Disease: Current State of the Art and Clinical Applications.World neurosurgery · 2025Review
- Role of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) in the Management of Stage III and IV Degenerative Disc Disease.Cureus · 2025Review
- Innovative strategies in combating intervertebral disc degeneration: pathological mechanisms and biomaterial advancements.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Intra-Articular Platelet-Rich Plasma versus Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Hip Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Overlapping Systematic Reviews.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2024Article
- Percutaneous Full Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Symptomatic Adjacent Segment Disease after Lumbar Fusion in Elderly Patients.Orthopaedic surgery · 2023Article
- Machine Learning Assisting the Prediction of Clinical Outcomes following Nucleoplasty for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The role of spinal surgery in the treatment of low back pain.The Medical journal of Australia · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAlthough many meta-analyses have been performed to compare total disc replacement (TDR) and fusion for treating lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD), their findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses comparing TDR with fusion for treating LDDD, to assist decision makers in selection among conflicting meta-analyses, and to provide treatment recommendations based on the best available evidence.
methodsThis study was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Multiple databases were comprehensively searched for meta-analyses comparing TDR with fusion for treating LDDD. Meta-analyses only comprising randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Two authors independently assessed meta-analysis quality and extracted data. The Jadad decision algorithm was used to ascertain which meta-analyses represented the best evidence.
resultsA total of five meta-analyses were included. All these studies only included RCTs were determined as Level-II evidence. The scores of Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) ranged from 6 to 9 (median 7). A high-quality Cochrane review was chosen according to the Jadad algorithm. This best available evidence found that statistical significances were observed between TDR and fusion for LDDD regarding disability, pain relief, and pain in the short term, but it was not over clinically important differences. The prevent effects on adjacent segment and facet joint degeneration, as the primary goal of adopting TDR stated by the manufacturers, were not appropriately evaluated.
conclusionsThere is discord in results from meta-analyses that assessed TDR and fusion for LDDD. According to this systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses comparing TDR and fusion for LDDD, the current best available evidence suggests that TDR may be an effective technique for the treatment of selected patients with LDDD, and is at least equal to lumbar fusion in the short term. However, considering that disadvantages may appear after years, spine surgeons should be cautions about performing TDR on a large scale.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.