The Disc Replacement Book
By Jim Rider
About the Disc Replacement Surgeons
While many people are smart to take steps to choose the best surgeon, the decision-making should not stop there. The truth is that the correct surgical team and hospital are also extremely important. But let’s start with the surgeons.
Selecting the right surgeon for your procedure is perhaps the most important decision you can make, maybe even more important than the decision between disc replacement and fusion. Even the most wonderful hardware will not help you if it is not implanted properly. In fact, I would personally take old hardware or even fusion over the latest hardware installed by a surgeon who is inexperienced with that hardware.
DR. KARSTEN RITTER-LANG Spinal Surgeon, Head of Spinal Surgery
Dr. Ritter-Lang began his career in Berlin at the Charite University Hospital, the birthplace of disc replacement. He is now the Head of the Spinal Surgery Department at two hospitals and continues in private practice.
Following his medical studies at The Humboldt University in Berlin, Dr. Ritter-Lang worked and taught at the Charite University Hospital, widely recognized as the birthplace of the first effective artificial disc. Dr. Ritter-Lang has been a specialist in the field of intervertebral disc prosthetics, especially in the field of abdominal approach surgery, for over 20 years. He has performed approximately 10,000 surgeries, over 4,000 of which have involved disc replacement. He has also performed several thousand fusions and hundreds of hybrid interventions in his ongoing career.
Dr. Ritter-Lang is one of the most internationally-respected speakers regarding spinal surgery and disc replacement. His participation in the ongoing development of intervertebral disc prosthetics technology, prototypes, and implants makes him a valuable resource for other spine surgeons, who travel from around the world to observe and model his surgical techniques. He has assembled an elite surgical team that specializes in disc replacement and hybrid intervention, and patients frequently seek his care because of his and his team’s experience and the increased number of options his team can provide. Dr. Ritter-Lang is one of the most experienced disc replacement surgeons in the world, and he has dedicated his career to this sub-specialty.
DR. JAN SPILLER Orthopedic Surgeon, Chief Surgeon
Dr. Spiller studied at Georg August University Göttingen and completed his doctoral thesis on Surgical Therapies of Specific and Unspecific Spondylitis. He began his specialized orthopedic training under Dr. Ritter-Lang and Dr. Zechel in 2004 and earned an additional degree in Chiropractic Therapy and Sports Medicine in 2008. Dr. Spiller also earned a specialization in Trauma Surgery at Klinikum Bremen Mitte under Prof. Dr. Hahn. He became Senior Surgeon at Stenum Hospital in 2010. He currently is the Chief Surgeon at Stenum Hospital, specializing in orthopedic surgery, spinal surgery, and joint surgery.
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Disc Replacement Studies
Disc Replacement FAQ
Disc Replacement Surgeons
Disc Replacement Success Stories
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