Eileen Eckert is a mother, a grandmother, and now great-grandmother.
"I love it. I'm on the go!" exclaimed Eckert.
But keeping up with the little ones was tough when Eckert developed spinal stenosis, a condition that causes narrowing of the spinal canal and lots of pain.
"It was a stabbing pain," Eckert said. "It just got more and more painful."
Eckert's doctor told her about a brand new procedure, and she was one of the first patients in the country to have it.
"I said if it's going to take the pain away, let's do it," Eckert said.
As part of a clinical trial, Dr. Neel Anand is performing a joint replacement for the spine. He first removes parts of the facet joints.
"In the back, there are two joints, called facet joints that actually move," said Anand, clinical professor of surgery and director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai.
Anand then implants artificial facet joints that move and function just like healthy joints. With traditional spinal fusion, patients have limited mobility and risk further spine degeneration. With the new joint replacement, the goal is for patients to be able to move freely and not compromise their spine.
Eckert noticed immediate relief.
"She's certainly somebody who has benefited from this," explained Anand.
Now, she can lift her great-grandson without pain holding her back.
Nearly 30 centers across the country are participating in a clinical trial to test the facet joint replacement surgery. To date, more than 300 patients have been enrolled and treated in the clinical trial.
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