The use of freeze-dried allograft bone for anterior cervical fusions.
A consecutive series of 87 patients undergoing Smith-Robinson anterior cervical fusion were analyzed. Either freeze-dried tricortical iliac crest bone or tricortical autograft bone was used. Surgical technique was otherwise identical. Radiography showed delayed union at 3 months in 13% of patients with autograft and in 37% of patients with freeze-dried allograft. At 1 year, radiography showed nonunion in 8% of patients with autograft and in 22% of patients with allograft. One-level procedures had a delayed union rate of 7% for autograft and 21% for allograft. Nonunion in one-level procedures was 5% for both autograft and allograft. For two-level procedures, the nonunion rate was 17% for autograft and 63% for allograft. Graft collapse was more commonly seen with freeze-dried allograft (30%) than with autograft (5%). Relief of neck and arm pain, however, was similar in both groups.
Zdeblick
T A
TA
Division of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Ducker
T B
TB
D000328:Adult; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005612:Freeze Drying; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium / Q000637:transplantation; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D014021:Tissue Preservation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology