Aftertreatment and Rehabilitation

My name is Brad Handford and I am a community Pharmacist residing in Alberta Canada.  

In 2018 I had a disc removed from upper C spine C7-T1 vertebral joint and a subsequent fusion in Canada. I had seven years being pain-free, but sadly in September of this year, the disc above that joint C6-C7 began to herniate severely as well causing severe „sciatic like“ pain in my left arm/shoulder/neck.  I did a fair bit of research and it seems that spinal fusions are the common option in Canada, but in the United States and Europe, they perform total artificial disc replacements (when the joint is stable) which are titanium ball/socket joints that allow for more flexibility and reduce the risk for future adjacent disc disease.   

I received a price quote estimate from a US hospital for a single level displacement of 500-700K. You read that right! way too much money for an average guy like me. So forget that option.  

I did more research and discovered there were a few facilities in Germany that would provide this type of service.  

I reviewed various orthopaedic surgeon in Germany to try to find the very best that I could. 

I finally decided upon Dr. Karsten Ritter-Lang.  I confirmed with an inpatient evaluation that Dr. Ritter-Lang has been an orthopaedic spinal surgeon since 1996 and has performed thousands of artificial disc replacements and other spinal surgeries to improve patient’s health. According to a bio I found online, „He has been a specialist in the field of inter-vertebral disc prosthetics, especially in the field of abdominal access surgery, for over 20 years. Dr. Ritter-Lang has performed over 10,000 surgeries, of which 5,584 were spinal column reconstructions and has done over 6,000 Disc Replacement procedures using a wide range of implants both cervical and lumbar.“

This data made me much more comfortable choosing Dr. Carson Ritter-Lang as he is very experienced in this type of surgery and I would have to say one of the top spinal surgeons that I could research a Germany. 

Next, I would like to let you know about my experience with Ortho Care Global GmbH

After completing intake forms and submitting copies of my x-rays and MRI reports I received a timely free review and evaluation personally from Dr. Karsten Ritter-Lang. He provided me with a very thorough evaluation and a diagnosis including herniation of my C6-7 disc, putting pressure on the nerve route exiting that joint. He then offered me a therapeutic plan which included removal of the disc, revision of the spinal canal and implantation of a single level total artificial disc replacement with the ProDisc C Vivo between my C6 and C7 vertebrae (check out the video it’s worth watching)

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I also received a very professional and concise surgical offer from Ortho Care Global GmbH.  This offer included; the type of implant that would be used, the therapy plan, full details of services included and the price for the complete 16 day package. This pack included; two days at a private hotel  prior to surgery to allow for an in person preoperative appointment with Dr. Carson Ritter-Lang, five days of care in the Stenum hospital, and then seven days of further postop recovery at the beautiful Park hotel(what an amazing place to recover). Price for the full package was included and I will just say that it was 10 to 15 times cheaper than the US quote I had received for the same artificial disc replacement surgery. 

My surgical and postop experience was excellent. I spent a full day in a special ICU unit for evaluation. Pretty rare where I come and then a further four days in my own room in the new wing of the hospital. Beautiful.

Nursing care was exceptional at this facility. I can’t thank them enough for their amazing care. My pain was controlled well while I recovered. All of the hospital staff were amazing including services from lab testing, food services, physiotherapy. Transfers to them from the airport to each of the hotels and hospital was included.  I was even up and moving well (walking, etc.)  after just two days. I recovered so well that after two weeks, I was even able to take a few trips into Bremen for sightseeing and made a trip to Hamburg to get a bit of a view of Germany. Beautiful country.  It’s important to note that the package also includes one other. This was very kind as having my wife along really improved my recovery.  

I was also very impressed by the follow up services provided by my pre-case manager Brett Bailey, my case manager, Svenja Rohrmoser, Anne Urban (operations and project lead), and even more exceptional personal visitation from the CEO of the company Katharina Helwig who checked in periodically to make sure that I was being looked after well. 

Food at both hotels was excellent and the opulence and service provided at the Park Hotel was beyond compare. Absolutely wonderful place to finish up my Recovery before flying home.  

I’m at home now and slowly recovering. I’m tasked with physiotherapy, including isometric exercise exercises to improve the referral pain which can occur postop.  The pain in my left arm is gone, which makes me very happy as I know there’s no longer pressure against the nerve and I am hopeful for a full and uneventful recovery. 

My opinion about the whole process is that if you are interested in artificial disc replacement as an option to treat degenerative disc disease in any portion of your spine (cervical thoracic lumbar), then Ortho Care Global GmbH and Dr. Karsten Ritter-Lang would be an exceptional choice for consideration.  I would definitely recommend getting in touch with Ortho Care Global.