How is a cervical artificial disc replacement surgery performed?

Like a fusion: A cervical disc arthroplasty (disc replacement) is approached the same way a cervical fusion is done. Which is through a small incision in the front of the neck. But instead of placing bone graft in the space that the disc used to occupy for fusion, it is replaced with a mobile disc replacement. The procedure takes just as long as a fusion.

It is the same : Approach as doing an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion by entering from the front of the neck and moving the strucures out of the way like the thyroid gland, esophagus, trachea and carotid vessels down to the spine to remove the entire problem disc and precisely placing the artificial disc into that disc space so it is perfectly sized and aligned.