Anterior cervical interbody fusion using polyetheretherketone cage filled with autologous and synthetic bone graft substrates for cervical spondylosis: comparative analysis between PolyBone® and iliac bone.

Clinical and radiological outcomes of cervical interbody fusion using a polyetheretherketone cage filled with PolyBone(®) (Kyungwon Medical Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea), beta-tricalcium phosphate material, and autologous iliac bone were retrospectively compared in 47 patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) between January 2007 and April 2008. Of these, 23 received iliac bone grafts and 24 received PolyBone. Numeric rating scale and neck disability index were used for clinical outcome assessments. Cervical radiography was performed immediately postoperatively, and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Computed tomography (CT) was performed at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Change in segmental lordosis, disk height, and fusion were compared at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Clinical outcomes were similar between both groups. CT and radiography at 12 months showed that fusion had occurred in 22 patients in the iliac bone group and in 19 in the PolyBone recipients. Fusion was also identified in 22 patients in both iliac bone and PolyBone groups at 24 months postoperatively. The clinical outcomes of ACDF using PolyBone and iliac bone were similar, with similar cervical interbody fusion rates at 24 months postoperatively. However, the time taken for fusion was apparently longer in the PolyBone group.