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Product, donor age among factors irrelevant to allograft fusion success
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The age of an allograft, the age of the donor and whether or not the graft was irradiated had no clinically relevant effects on the bioavailability of growth factors for an allograft fusion, according to study data.
Christopher Yeung, MD, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed radiograph results from 285 consecutive cervical and lumbar spinal fusion patients who utilized OsteoAMP bone grafts (Advanced Biologics) from 114 donors. A total of 488 allografts were analyzed.
Radiographs were taken at 3-, 6-, 12- and 18-month postoperative follow-ups. The researchers used linear regression to determine any correlation between variables, and one-way analysis was used to analyze all other data points. Fusion was achieved if the patient had clearly bridged bone between both endplates.
At 12-month follow-up, 98.2% of lumbar patients and 98.3% of cervical patients had solid bridging arthrodesis. The cervical group demonstrated faster fusion at 167.2 days, compared with 206.2 days in the lumbar group, according to the researchers.
“Fusion success did not show donor intervariability and that fusion rate/time is not dependent on donor age,” Yeung and colleagues wrote. “In addition, the implant retained bioactivity over time and terminal sterilization via low-dose gamma irradiation did not impair the bioactivity of the grafts.”
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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