ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: We wanted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a PEEK cage filled with DBM in patients with a distractive flexion injury of the cervical spine. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: AIF of the cervical spine using an autoiliac bone graft and plate fixation is known to be an effective treatment for traumatic injuries. However, the complications arising from the donor site are troublesome, and so fusion with cage is an alternative treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 32 cases (22 males and 10 females) with distractive flexion injury of the cervical spine. They underwent anterior decompression and interbody fusion with a PEEK cage and anterior plate fixation. In 18 patients, the cage was filled with autogenous iliac bone (Group I), and for the other 10 the cages were filled with DBM (Group II). RESULTS: All the cases in Group I and Group II achieved fusion except for one case of nonunion in group II. The anterior and posterior vertebral heights of the fused segments of group II were decreased more than those of group I, resulting a statistical difference (p=0.003). The changes of segmental lordosis (p=0.69) and the neurologic status (p=0.22) showed no statistical difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: AIF using a PEEK cage filled with DBM and plate fixation showed no significant clinical differences compared to the case of iliac bone autografting. However, from a radiologic perspective, the time to achieve union was extensive and a case of nonunion was also observed. Therefore, many considerations are necessary when using DBM as a replacement for iliac bone autografting and further research should be done on this subject.