dascor

nurse4kids02 · #1 (**permalink**) 08-22-2008, 05:25 AM

soo all of us who have had this dascor implant are now being told that our levels of MDA (which is a carcinogen) is risising, yet they will not tell us our levels, which i think is absurd.
anyone know of any way to get this tested out on my own... i have done some research and only speciality labs can do it.......

mmglobal · #2 (**permalink**) 08-23-2008, 04:32 AM

I'm so sorry to hear of the unexpected issue with Dascor. I had heard that migration of the implant was an issue with both of the injectable nucleus replacements (Dascor and Nucore), but had not heard this.

The risk of being an early adopter of new technology is substantial. While we may complain about the cost and time involved in getting a new technology to the marketplace, the system can keep us from making serious mistakes. I know that is not much consolation for the Dascor clinical trial patients right now.

I hope to hear that this is not too serious and the levels are low. I don't understand how they can keep medical information about your case from you. When you go back and look at consent forms... can they control your records in a manner that keeps your data from you?

I'm sorry that you are facing this stressful issue.

Mark

nurse4kids02 · #3 (**permalink**) 08-23-2008, 03:38 PM

hey mark,

i looked in my contract, and i can't find anything about them not giving me my lab work. however, i called them again, and they say they will not, and they will contact me if the levels are critical...which kind of frustrates me, because by then its too late!!!

im now having lot of numbness and tingling in my legs, so i asked dr. regan if i can have another mri to make sure things are going alright.

how did you hear about the movement of the nucleus, do you have any information or literature i can look at?? i feel so left in the dark.... im not sure i would do another study again... its kind of like, once they get you to do it... they just drop you off the face of the earth...and leave you out to dry, and don't tell you anything!!

im gonna try to get the mdi test on my own and see what my levels are, just having a hard time finding a lab that will process it, cuz its such a specialty test.

thanks for all your input,

melissa

mmglobal · #4 (**permalink**) 08-23-2008, 06:50 PM

Melissa, I've been attending 2 - 4 surgeons conferences/year for many years now. I've spoken to dozens of surgeons about all of the nucleus replacement technologies. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt.... early on, they are always excited about how well things are going. Then there seems to be a rash of naysayers who harp on bad things they hear and don't believe the good. Some surgeons get scared off by early problems and join the naysayer camp. Some stay with it and learn to overcome the problems. Some have horrible results while others have wonderful results. Sometimes it's hard to have confidence in the data we hear.

In addition to spending time at the conferences, the amount of time I get with many of the top surgeons gives me a very unique perspective. I don't think that any of this translates into certain knowledge... it just gives me a more balanced view than what we can get from our doctors.

None of this applies to the type of problem you are worried about. Again... I hope to hear that this is not as serious as it sounds. I'd caution you not to horribleize this.

Talk to you soon,

Mark

mgfag2000 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 09:01 PM

I think the MDA issue should not be a problem as a study was conducted that showed that the carcinogenic response of the above compound was negligible when compared to the carcinogenic control.

I can forward the above information.

However , I was not aware of the migration issues of Dascor and NuCore. Are there any publications , any data in the literature citing the migration?

nurse4kids02 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 02:59 PM

hey,
thanks for that info. can you forward the information?

i haven't seen any info on the migration of it... but i know others have mentioned it.

thanks!!

mgfag2000 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 02:23 AM

Alright,

This is a Google books result. Just give "Dascor MDA" in the search box and you will find

" Motion Preservation Surgery of the Spine " by James J. Yue, Rudolph Bertagnoli, Paul C. McAfee, Howard S. An

"Page 401" specifically talks about Dascor and MDA & the study conducted

Motion Preservation Surgery of the ... - Google Book Search

Hope the above works.

mmglobal · #8 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 05:31 AM

I have the book that was mentioned. If anyone sends me an email... I'll forward a copy of that page. It describes the testing that was done. 26 week subcutaneuos implantation (mice), 7 treatment groups....

Mark

nurse4kids02 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-19-2009, 06:39 PM

i would like a copy forwarded to me please. i went to get the book, but its 300 dollars... do you know if there is anywhere else that has the dascor study published?

my email is nursemel1979@gmail.com

thanks everyone!!!

melissa

mgfag2000 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 11:33 AM

Mark,

What is your opinion on ADRs? What has your experience been so far?

I am , personally, not a huge fan of metal-hard polymer-metal devices. Most of these ADRs out there are all the same... metal on metal, metal on polymer.

Could you shed some light?

thanks