title: Delayed fracture of fibular strut allograft following multilevel anterior cervical spine corpectomy and fusion.
abstract: METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report the occurrence of the rare complication of fibular strut graft fractures in 2 patients.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Fatigue fracture of fibular strut allograft following anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion has rarely been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two patients sustained delayed fractures of their anterior fibular strut allografts following combined three-level cervical corpectomy and posterior instrumented fusion at 9 and 17 months after surgery. Both patients had successfully fused both ends of their anterior strut grafts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both patients were successfully treated by revision posterior instrumented fusion without revision of the anterior strut. These patients' allografts were harvested from the same donor, a 69-year-old woman. The tissue bank involved does not use donor age or osteoporosis as exclusion criteria for structural allograft donation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The fact that this relatively rare complication occurred in 2 patients who shared the same donor suggests that the mechanical strength of the donor allograft may have played a significant role in both fractures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
authors.forename: Jackson
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Jung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hart
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005360:Fibula / Q000293:injuries* / Q000637:transplantation*; D015775:Fractures, Stress / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D016268:Internal Fixators; D008875:Middle Aged; D012086:Reoperation; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous