Artificial Disc Replacement in West Covina

For West Covina residents living with chronic neck or low back pain, the spine surgeon you are looking for is already in town. Dr. Kambiz Hannani's practice has been based in West Covina for over two decades, and his primary surgical home — Emanate Health, Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital — is also right here in the city. For artificial disc replacement (ADR) and other motion-preserving spine procedures, that means West Covina patients do not need to fight the 10 freeway into Los Angeles or sit in San Gabriel Valley traffic to reach a fellowship-trained, board-certified spine surgeon. Both the consultation and the surgery happen within a few minutes of home.

Many of the families Dr. Hannani treats today have known him for years — neighbors who were referred by other neighbors, parents who sent their adult children, schoolteachers and city employees and small-business owners who built relationships with the practice over the long haul. That long history matters when you are deciding whether to put an FDA-approved implant into your spine. You want a surgeon who is going to still be here next year, and the year after, and a decade after that. Dr. Hannani has been here, and he is staying here.

What is Artificial Disc Replacement?

Between every two vertebrae in your spine sits a disc — a soft cushion that absorbs shock and lets your spine bend, twist, and carry 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 discs above and below in the years that follow.

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 otherwise 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 long-term risk of adjacent segment disease at the discs above and below.

• Faster return to normal life. There is no waiting for bones to fuse together. Most patients are walking the same day and back to a desk job within 2 to 4 weeks.

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

• Lower long-term re-operation risk at adjacent levels. Multi-year studies show ADR patients are less likely to need a second surgery on 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, 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 West Covina Patients Choose Dr. Hannani for Disc Replacement

There is one short, honest answer: he is the local spine surgeon. The practice is in West Covina. His operating room is at Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital, also in West Covina. For a procedure as significant as putting an artificial disc into your neck or low back, the convenience of having every step happen within your own city — pre-op visits, the surgery itself, and the all-important post-op follow-up appointments where the surgeon checks how you are healing — is hard to overstate. West Covina patients are not driving an hour each way for a 15-minute follow-up.

Beyond convenience, Dr. Hannani has been the spine surgeon for West Covina families for more than twenty years. Many of his current patients first came in on a neighbor's recommendation, or because their parent had a procedure done years ago. That kind of long-term, multi-generational trust is something you cannot build by buying a billboard on the 10. It is built one careful operation, one honest second opinion, and one good outcome at a time.

Getting to Our Office from West Covina

If you live in West Covina, you are roughly 5 minutes from the front door — whether you are coming from the South Hills, the BKK Park area, near Galster Wilderness Park, the Eastland Center side of town, or the neighborhoods around Westfield West Covina mall and Plaza West Covina. Free patient parking is available on site. For exact directions and address, see our contact page.

A Patient's Story

A West Covina patient in her early fifties — a long-time elementary school teacher who has lived in the South Hills for twenty-five years — came in after a year of worsening arm pain and tingling that physical therapy and an epidural injection had only partially helped. Her MRI showed a clearly degenerated C5-C6 disc compressing the nerve. She was a textbook cervical disc replacement candidate. The surgery was done at Emanate Health across town. She was home the same evening, off narcotics within a week, and back in front of her classroom in a little under three weeks. Her follow-up visits were a five-minute drive — important, because the follow-up appointments after disc replacement are how the surgeon catches small issues before they become big ones.

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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is your office? Our practice is located in West Covina — minutes from anywhere in the city. For the exact address, parking information, and a map, please visit our contact page.

Where do you perform the surgery? Dr. Hannani's primary surgical site is Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital, right here in West Covina. He also has privileges at Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital in adjacent Covina, and at additional surgery centers across the San Gabriel Valley as needed.

​How fast can I get an appointment as a local West Covina patient? Local patients are typically seen within a week, and often sooner for urgent cases. Bring any prior MRI imaging on disc to the first visit so Dr. Hannani can give you a meaningful opinion the same day.

How long do artificial discs last? Modern FDA-approved cervical and lumbar discs have published 7- and 10-year follow-up data showing excellent durability. The implants are designed to last decades.

Will my insurance cover artificial disc replacement? Cervical disc replacement is now covered by most major insurance plans in California, including Medicare, when medical necessity is documented. Lumbar disc replacement coverage varies by plan and is reviewed case-by-case. Our office handles pre-authorization on your behalf.

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.