Comparing Bone Fusion Rates Between Novel Unidirectional Porous Tricalcium Beta-Phosphate and Autologous Bone in Lumbar Lateral Interbody Fusion: A Two-Year Radiographic Outcome Study

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 9; p. e46240
• Main Authors: Kumagai, Hiroshi, Funayama, Toru, Sato, Kosuke, Noguchi, Hiroshi, Yoshioka, Tomokazu, Koda, Masao, Yamazaki, Masashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 30-09-2023; Cureus
• Subjects: Bones; Diabetes; Medical imaging; Orthopedics; Osteoporosis; Patients; Rheumatoid arthritis; Skin & tissue grafts; Surgery
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.46240

This retrospective cohort study aims to examine the potential differences in bone fusion between autologous bone and artificial bone in the lumbar lateral interbody fusion at 2two years post-surgery.The bone fusions performed in 15 cases and at 34 intervertebral levels were compared to assess the differences between the artificial bone, Affinos® (Kuraray Co., Tokyo, Japan), and autogenous bone. Two years post-surgery, we evaluated computed tomography (CT) multi-planar reconstruction images in the coronal and sagittal planes.One year after surgery, out of the 24 windows, 17 (70.8%) windows transplanted with autologous bones showed bone fusion. Additionally, out of the 38 windows, 18 (47.4%) windows transplanted with Affinos® showed bone fusion. Two years post-surgery, out of the 24 windows, 19 (79.2%) windows transplanted with autologous bones showed bone fusion. Additionally, out of the 38 windows, 30 (79.0%) windows transplanted with Affinos® showed bone fusion, and no difference was observed in the fusion rate at two years post-surgery (P = 0.238).In cases using Affinos® for transplanted bone, the bone fusion rate increased between one and two years. The rate of bony fusion using Affinos® in lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) cages is at par with that of autologous bone grafts at two years post-surgery. Affinos® is a promising candidate for graft material in LLIF surgery.