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New Discovery Aids Spinal Fusion
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Posted on: 11/30/1999
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For years, doctors have tried to find the best way to fuse two bones together. Bone graft is the accepted way to do this. However, taking bone from another part of the body or from a donor has definite problems. Researchers haven't been able to find a substitute material better than natural bone--at least until now.
In 1965, a scientist discovered proteins called bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) that make bone. In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a manmade version of this protein. It's called rhBMP-2, or recombinant BMP. "Recombinant" means it's formed by rearranging the genes.
More than 60 doctors at 36 different centers helped with this study. Together, they enrolled 679 patients. No single doctor had more than 10 percent of the cases. Thus, the results represent a wide range of doctors with different levels of experience.
All patients had a special cage filled with bone placed between two bones in the spine. Cages are becoming more common in spinal fusion. They spread and hold the two vertebrae apart where the disc was taken out. The bone material inside the cage binds, or fuses, with the vertebrae above and below.
Two methods of bone grafting were used in this study. The first is the standard bone graft taken from the patient's pelvic bone. The second is rh-BMP called INFUSE Bone Graft. In all cases, the INFUSE recombinant bone had better results.
Patients getting the INFUSE graft had shorter surgery time, less blood loss, and a shorter stay in the hospital. This group also had a higher fusion rate, less pain, and returned to work faster. And there were fewer re-operations in the patients with INFUSE.
The authors of this study found INFUSE Bone Graft superior to human bone. INFUSE may become the new standard for spine fusions using cages.
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References:
J. Kenneth Burkus, et al. Is INFUSE Bone Graft Superior to Autograft Bone? An Integrated Analysis of Clinical Trials Using the LT-CAGE Lumbar Tapered Fusion Device. In Journal of Spinal Disorders. April 2003. Vol. 16. No. 2. Pp. 113-122.
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