ABOUT THE BALANCED BACK LUMBAR DISC
The Balanced Back Clinic in the Cayman Islands includes two fellowship-trained spine surgeons — Craig Humphreys, MD and Scott Hodges, MD. Both have active spine practices in the United States. Both Dr. Hodges and Dr. Humphreys have been performing surgeries in the U.S. for more than 25 years. Both spine surgeons are Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeons who are fellowship-trained in spine surgery.

Dr. Humphreys and Dr. Hodges are co-inventors of the Balanced Back Artificial Disc for the low back (lumbar) spine. The Balanced Back lumbar artificial disc is the only lumbar artificial disc that is installed from the back, which represents lower risk than operating through the abdomen. The Balanced Back Disc is pending FDA approval.

The Balanced Back Disc was invented to address two key issues with lumbar disc replacement:

1. Traditional lumbar disc replacement surgery is done through the abdomen to access the front of the spine. This frontal (anterior) approach can present an even greater challenge should a patient need revision surgery later to address a worn-out disc or arthritic facet joints. The Balanced Back Disc technology enables the spine surgeon to operate through the back which presents less risk as the surgeon is not operating around internal organs.
2. The traditional FDA approved lumbar discs do not address problems with the facet joints at the back of the spine, which can be affected by arthritis, especially with aging. The Balanced Back Disc addresses issues with the facet joints during the surgery.
3. The spine has a natural S curve that provides ideal “sagital balance”. The Balanced Back Disc technology replaces the damaged disc along the function of the facet joints as well which alleviates any existing or future arthritic issues with the facet joints. Because the Balanced Back Disc replaces the whole joint, the spine can regain its natural range of movement and retains its natural “S” curve.

BalancedBack Total Joint Replacement:

1. The BalancedBack Total Joint Replacement is the first “total” joint replacement for the lumbar spine and is the first ever system to successfully address the entire lumbar joint as a functional spinal unit. It represents a major advancement in how leg and back pain is treated and follows closely in the footsteps of other total joint replacement procedures, such as hips and knees. The device stabilizes the spine while preserving motion, which may lead to increased functional capacity. The procedure addresses the same pathologies as fusion, but with one important difference: BalancedBack preserves range of motion, natural balance and helps protect adjacent levels from breakdown.
2. BalancedBack is a motion-sparing lumbar reconstruction that replaces the function of both the intervertebral disc and facet joints and is implanted using a bilateral trans-foraminal (TLIF) approach, following decompression.
3. 89 procedures and a total of 133 spinal levels have been treated with the BalancedBack procedure.

The Balanced Back Clinic in the Cayman Islands evaluates your case beforehand to see if you are a candidate for the procedure. If you are a candidate, the Balanced Back Clinic staff helps with all travel logistics.

The day before your scheduled surgery, you’ll fly to the Caymans. From the moment you land, clinic staff manages your stay. Our concierge service takes you from the airport to the NovoClinic Cayman for a final checkup, then on to your hotel on Seven Mile Beach.

After surgery, patients begin walking the hallways at the hospital 2 to 3 hours after surgery. Patients are discharged typically the same day to begin their full recovery in a positive, comfortable, non-hospital environment. Activity levels are increased over several weeks. Typically after 3 months post surgery, most patients have no further restrictions on activity.

Dr. Scott Hodges, Dr. Craig Humphreys and Dr. Marc Peterman are the original inventors of the BalancedBack® technique and associated instrumentation. The three met at Medtronic in the early 2000s, where they developed the core intellectual property portfolio and concept. Later, they took the technology private with Medtronic’s support, forming International Surgical SEZC, a Cayman company dedicated to bringing Total Lumbar Arthroplasty to the world market. All three are recognized innovators in the spine care space, with particular contribution in the area of posterior lumbar instrumentation. Drs. Humphreys and Hodges were early innovators of the TLIF procedure, developing Johnson & Johnsons’s DEVEX cage and other early concepts. Dr. Peterman developed many successful products including Medtronic’s CAPSTONE, the most widely-used fusion cage in the world.

Despite their experience with fusion instrumentation for lumbar pathologies, the team remained dissatisfied with the clinical outcomes of fusion surgery. They believe motion-sparing (arthroplasty) stabilization of the lower back is the solution, and have made it their personal mission to make this technology available to millions of people everywhere, in every market.

It’s common for new technology to be used for many years in Europe and other countries because of the delay in getting FDA approval for the latest technology. By having a clinic in the Cayman Islands, the physicians are able to make available the most current spine technology for patients.

The Balanced Back Team also includes the expertise of Dr. Marcella Madera, a Fellowship-Trained Spine Neurosurgeon, and Board-Certified in Neurological Surgery. Dr. Madera has an active spine practice in Austin, Texas. Dr. Madera is an expert in surgical treatment of conditions of the spine, including degenerative spine disease, spine tumors, and degenerative deformity. She completed her spine fellowship the world renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Dr. Madera has expertise in all spinal approaches and techniques, including both open and minimally invasive surgery (MIS), endoscopic spine surgery, disc/joint replacement, and regenerative/stem cell procedures for spine disease. She is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and currently practices at Austin Integrative Spine in Lakeway, Texas. Dr. Madera is also licensed in the Cayman Islands and practices at NovoClinic Cayman, with surgical privileges at CTMH Doctors Hospital.