Bone grafting is used to augment bone healing and provide stability after spinal surgery. Autologous bone graft is limited in quantity and unfortunately associated with increased surgical time and donor-site morbidity. Alternatives to bone grafting in spinal surgery include the use of allografts, osteoinductive growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins and various synthetic osteoconductive carriers.
Department of Orthopedics, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Rothman Institute, 925 Chestnut Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. vaccaro3@yahoo.com