Researchers examined 58 patients who underwent primary TLIF from a single surgeon. The surgeon reported 77 levels of fusion with all patients receiving 5 milligrams of rhBMP-2 per level. Osteolysis was found in 27.6 percent of the patients and 24.7 percent of the levels treated.
There wasn’t a significant difference between single and two-level fusions. The average degree of osteolysis was 12.5 millimeters. Of the patients with osteolysis, 31.6 percent demonstrated graft subsistence. The invertebral cage migrated in 8.8 percent of the patients.
The study’s authors advised that patients who demonstrated postoperative osteolysis were also associated with a significant risk of subsidence of the intervertebral cage.
Read the abstract about using rhBMP-2 for TLIF.
Read other coverage on spine surgery studies:
– Spine Surgery Research Update: Treatment of Cervical Spine
– 8 New Studies Impacting Spine Surgery
– Study: MRI for Spine Surgery May Lead to Unnecessary Surgery
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