Is Barricaid an option for me?
Barricaid is meant for patients at higher risk of another disc herniation and return of back and leg pain.
Your spine surgeon will be able to determine, based on your pre-operative imaging scan, if you have a disc that can be saved by performing a limited discectomy. Barricaid implantation follows your standard discectomy surgery.
Barricaid surgery explained
The Barricaid device is implanted following a regular discectomy if it is needed. In this case, your surgeon may implant a Barricaid to reduce the risk of future herniations.
The surgery is guided using x-ray. Your surgeon will make a small in incision and perform a discectomy to remove disc fragments. The discectomy part of the surgery is intended to reduce the pain and restore normal motion of your back. Your surgeon will then measure the size of the hole in your disc. If the hole is the right size for Barricaid, your surgeon will then insert the implant. The small titanium (a type of metal) anchor will go into the bone, while the polymer barrier (white component) goes into the disc to block the hole. The device reduces the chance of a reherniation in the future.
What happens after my Barricaid surgery?
After your surgery, your doctor will give you a plan for your recovery as well as how to care for your incision. This may include limits for your activity or recommendation for physical therapy as well as how to change the dressing on your wound. Your doctor will perform follow-up visits at normal times to see how your wound is healing and to check to see how your recovery is going.
When should I call my doctor?
Some pain and discomfort after surgery is normal. Before surgery you should discuss with your doctor about when to call with problems after surgery. You should call your doctor immediately if you have redness or tenderness of your surgical site, or have too much pain, are sick to your stomach and vomit, or have a fever.
Clinical results with Barricaid
The Barricaid has been implanted in over 9,000 patients in and outside the United States since 2008.
To learn about how patients with the device do after surgery and the use of the Barricaid, eight studies including one pivotal (major) study were performed, to show that the device is safe and is able to reduce the number of repeat herniations in the right group of patients.
The Barricaid was studied in a clinical trial in over twenty hospitals to study the safety and effects of the device in patients with herniated discs with radiculopathy (damage or trouble with nerve function that results in one or both of the nerve roots near the vertebrae pressing upon by the herniated disc).
The study was a prospective (forward looking in time) randomized controlled trial (RCT) where patients received a normal discectomy and the Barricaid device or the normal discectomy surgery alone (control group). Which treatment they got was decided randomly by a computer toward the end of the surgery, after the hole in the disc was measured. There was a total of 554 patients participating, with 276 patients in the Barricaid group and 278 patients in the control group. The trial was focused on patients with a higher risk of a new herniation.
Study results:
81% reduction in reoperation for reherniation. 1
References
- Some studies outside U.S. indications. Values at Minimum 1 year PostOp. Minimum study size of 20 Barricaid subjects. For citations and published studies, visit
https://info.barricaid.com/8studies
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