LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A team of surgeons led by Gil Tepper, MD, Medical Director of the Miracle Mile Medical Center in Los Angeles, and including Dr. Daniel Capen and Dr. Graham Mouw, have successfully implanted the Total Disc Replacement ActivL®. They were the first in California to implant the newly FDA approved device. Tepper, a Board Certified Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeon, was a principle investigator for the FDA on other spinal implants.
The patient, a 36 year old law enforcement officer, had suffered crippling pain which made his police work impossible to perform. “Almost immediately after surgery, he was walking and he was discharged the following day; soon he will be returning to work with spinal motion restored,” said Dr. Tepper.
The officer had suffered from degenerative disc collapse, which could have been treated with traditional fusion of the lumbar disc. The doctors agreed the newly approved Artificial Disc was far more suitable in this case.
"We are pleased to offer the latest FDA approved technology to benefit one of LA’s finest and return him to duty soon," said Dr. Capen. They have often been in the first group of physicians authorized to test and implant new devices in the state.