Artificial Disc Replacement in Encino, CA

Encino patients dealing with chronic neck or back pain often face a choice — see whatever spine surgeon happens to be closest in the San Fernando Valley, or travel for a board-certified specialist with a long track record in motion-preserving surgery. Dr. Kambiz Hannani offers a third option for Encino patients: an unhurried second opinion at his West Covina office, with surgery, when needed, performed at Saint John's Medical Center in Santa Monica — about 25 minutes south of Encino down the 405. He has performed both cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacement (ADR) for over 20 years.

A note up front, because honesty matters more than marketing: Dr. Hannani does not currently hold privileges at any San Fernando Valley hospital. If you live in Encino and want him as your surgeon, the consultation is most often coordinated at the West Covina office (about 45 to 60 minutes east via the 101 to the 134 to the 210), and surgery is performed at Saint John's in Santa Monica or, for outpatient procedures, at Advanced Surgical Center of Beverly Hills. The patient population we see from Encino has already weighed that trade-off and decided that the right surgeon and the right operation are worth a longer drive on a small number of days.

Many Encino patients arrive having already been told by another spine surgeon that they need a fusion. Some of them turn out to be excellent ADR candidates and leave with a very different plan. Others turn out to need the fusion after all — and they leave knowing why, with the full reasoning explained. The point of the visit is an honest assessment, not a sales pitch.

What is Artificial Disc Replacement?

Between every two vertebrae in your spine sits a disc — a soft, shock-absorbing cushion that lets your spine bend, twist, and absorb load. When a disc wears out, dries out, or herniates, the result is often pain, nerve compression, weakness, and stiffness. The traditional surgical answer has been spinal fusion: remove the bad disc and bolt the two vertebrae together so they move as one. Fusion works, but it eliminates motion at that level, which can place extra stress on the levels above and below over the following years.

Artificial disc replacement is the alternative. The damaged disc is removed and replaced with an FDA-approved mechanical implant — typically a metal-and-polyethylene device — that preserves the natural motion of the spine. The patient keeps the ability to bend and rotate at that level, and the surrounding discs are spared the extra wear-and-tear they would absorb after a fusion.

ADR vs. Spinal Fusion: The Real Difference

For the right patient, ADR offers meaningful advantages over fusion:

• Motion is preserved. The treated level still bends and rotates, which feels more natural and reduces the risk of adjacent segment disease — the long-term breakdown of the discs above and below a fusion.

• Faster return to normal activity. There is no waiting for bones to fuse together. Many patients are walking the same day and back to desk work within 2 to 4 weeks.

• No bone graft harvest. Fusion often requires harvesting bone from the hip; ADR does not.

• Lower long-term re-operation risk at adjacent levels. Multiple long-term studies (5 and 10 years) now show ADR patients are less likely to need a second surgery at a neighboring disc compared with fusion patients.

Fusion still has its place — particularly for patients with significant instability, prior failed surgery, or severe arthritis at the facet joints. The right operation is the one that fits your spine, and that determination requires a careful in-person evaluation with imaging.

Cervical (Neck) vs. Lumbar (Low Back) Disc Replacement

Cervical disc replacement is the more common of the two procedures. It is most often used for patients with arm pain, numbness, or weakness from a herniated or degenerated cervical disc that has not improved with non-surgical care. The procedure is done through a small incision in the front of the neck (anterior approach), the diseased disc is removed, and the artificial disc is implanted in its place. Most patients go home the same day or after one night in the hospital.

Lumbar disc replacement is reserved for a narrower group — typically younger patients with isolated single-level degenerative disc disease in the low back, no significant facet arthritis, and no prior fusion. The lumbar implant is placed through an anterior approach (through the abdomen), which avoids cutting through back muscles and tends to result in less post-operative back pain than a posterior fusion.

Why Encino Patients Choose Dr. Hannani for Disc Replacement

The San Fernando Valley has plenty of competent spine surgeons. What it has fewer of are surgeons with two decades of dedicated experience performing both cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacement, who are also willing to tell a patient honestly that they don't need surgery yet. Dr. Hannani is board-certified, completed his orthopedic surgery training at UCLA, and finished his fellowship at St. John's in Santa Monica — which is exactly where most of his Encino patients end up having their surgery performed. The 405 corridor connects Encino directly to that hospital, and the trip on surgery day is typically 25 minutes outside of rush hour.

Encino patients also tend to value a conservative-first approach. Many of the patients we see from Encino, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, and Studio City are professionals — entertainment industry, real estate, small business owners along Ventura Boulevard — who have already done their reading and want a surgeon who will actually answer their questions. Dr. Hannani's consultations are unhurried for exactly this reason. If you are weighing fusion against ADR, that comparison deserves more than ten minutes.

Where Surgery is Performed for Encino Patients

This is the question Encino patients ask first, so the honest answer up front: Dr. Hannani does not currently have surgical privileges at any San Fernando Valley hospital. For Encino patients his work flows like this:

• Initial consultation — at the West Covina office. From most of Encino, the route is the 101 East to the 134 East to the 210 East, exiting in West Covina. Plan on 45 to 60 minutes outside of rush hour.

• Inpatient or longer surgical procedures — at Saint John's Medical Center in Santa Monica, where Dr. Hannani trained and where he holds primary surgical privileges. From Encino, this is about 25 minutes south on the 405.

• Outpatient procedures — at Advanced Surgical Center of Beverly Hills, also about 25 minutes south of Encino via the 405. Most cervical disc replacements and many lumbar cases are now performed in this kind of dedicated outpatient setting.

For most Encino patients, that means one longer drive (the consultation in West Covina) and a much shorter drive on surgery day to the Westside or Santa Monica. Pre-op clearance and follow-up visits can often be coordinated to minimize trips.

A Patient Story

A 49-year-old longtime Ventura Boulevard small business owner from Encino Hills came to us with eight months of left arm pain, numbness in his thumb and index finger, and a C5-C6 disc herniation on MRI. He had been told at a Sherman Oaks practice that he needed a two-level cervical fusion. On review of his imaging, the C6-C7 level above looked degenerated but was not the source of his symptoms — and he still had excellent disc height and no facet arthritis at C5-C6. He underwent a single-level cervical disc replacement at Saint John's in Santa Monica, went home the next morning, was off narcotics in five days, and was back behind the counter at his shop within three weeks. Two years later his motion is preserved and the second level has not progressed.

Who is a Candidate for Artificial Disc Replacement?

Not every patient with disc pain is a candidate for ADR. The best candidates generally:

• Have pain originating from a single damaged disc (or two adjacent discs)

• Have failed at least 6 weeks of non-surgical treatment (physical therapy, medications, injections)

• Do not have severe arthritis at the small joints behind the disc (facet joints)

• Do not have significant osteoporosis

• Have not had a prior fusion at the same level

• Are typically between 18 and 60 years old, though older healthy patients can sometimes qualify

A thorough work-up — including current MRI, dynamic X-rays, and a physical examination — is the only way to know for sure. Patients who are not ADR candidates are not stuck: there are excellent fusion, decompression, and minimally invasive endoscopic options available.

What Recovery Looks Like

Cervical ADR patients are usually walking the same day, eating dinner that night, and home within 24 hours. Most are off narcotic pain medication within a week, driving within 2 weeks, and back to a desk job within 2 to 4 weeks. Heavy labor and contact sports are restricted for about 3 months. For Encino patients having surgery at Saint John's, the trip back over the hill the next morning is comfortable in a passenger seat.

Lumbar ADR recovery is slightly longer because of the abdominal approach. Patients typically stay 1 to 2 nights in the hospital, walk the next morning, and return to light activity in 4 to 6 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions from Encino Patients

How far is the drive from Encino to your office? The West Covina office is roughly 30 miles east of Encino. Outside of rush hour, the drive is about 45 to 60 minutes via the 101 East to the 134 East to the 210 East. Free on-site patient parking is available — no garage circling.

Where will my surgery actually be performed? For most Encino patients, surgery is performed at Saint John's Medical Center in Santa Monica, about 25 minutes south of Encino on the 405. For outpatient procedures, the Advanced Surgical Center of Beverly Hills is also about 25 minutes south. Both are significantly closer to Encino than the West Covina office is.

Do you have a closer office in the San Fernando Valley? No — and we want to be honest about that rather than pretend otherwise. The primary office is in West Covina. We have looked at the question of a Valley satellite location and it is on the table for the future, but at present consultations happen at West Covina. Many Encino patients schedule the consultation, imaging review, and pre-op visit close together to minimize trips, and surgery itself is done much closer to home on the Westside.

I was told I need a two-level fusion. Is that ever appropriate for ADR instead? Sometimes. Two-level cervical disc replacement is FDA-approved and is the right operation for selected patients. Two-level lumbar ADR is more limited. The only way to know is a careful imaging review — bring your MRI on disc to the consultation.

How do I schedule a consultation? Call our office at 626-939-5900 or visit our contact page. Bring any prior MRI or X-ray imaging on disc if you have it — this lets Dr. Hannani give you a meaningful opinion at the first visit.