Healos(R) Bone Graft Replacement Effective In Multi-Level ACDF And ACCF After 18 Months, New Study Shows

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 19 Dec 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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A new study in the November issue of Neurosurgery shows that HEALOS(R) Bone Graft Replacement, when combined with bone marrow aspirate (BMA) and used in combination with fibular allograft, was effective in promoting fusion in multi-level anterior cervical fusion surgeries and compared favorably to fusion rates reported in the published literature with iliac crest autograft.

The study is the first to evaluate the use of HEALOS in multi-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF) procedures.

According to the study, 58 out of 60 patients (96.8%) who had ACDF and/or ACCF procedures between two and five disc levels demonstrated successful radiographic fusion after 18 months. Comparatively, Khoueir et al discussed previous literature in which multilevel ACDF and/or ACCF procedures with iliac crest autograft resulted in nonunion rates of 17% to 26.3%.

The authors state in the study that "Although randomized, controlled studies are necessary to determine whether or not the fusion rates are superior to those obtained from using allograft alone, these results compare favorably to historical data in the literature."

HEALOS is a bone graft substitute that serves as a 3-dimensional scaffold for use with autologous bone marrow aspirate (BMA). HEALOS is intended for use in filling bony voids or gaps of the skeletal system not intrinsic to the stability of the bony structure and is resorbed and remodeled into new bone as part of the healing process.

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