What are Autografts and Allografts used for?
Autografts and Allografts are both bone materials used during spinal fusion procedures to create a bone bridge between two adjacent vertebrae, and the bone bridge fuses to create a solid bone structure.
What is Allograft?
Allograft is bone that is obtained from cadavers. There are two types of fresh frozen and freeze dried. There is risk when using allograft since there is no living cells in the graft, there is greater chance of graft rejection and risk of infection.
What is Autograft?
Autograft is bone that they take from the patient for harvesting bone. There are two types of ways to obtain an autograft, one is from the iliac crest and the other is graft from the surgical site. Autograft has all the characteristics necessary for solid bridge for bone to grow.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Allograft is the most costly option for harvesting because the bone is obtained from cadavers. Since there are no living cells in the graft there is a chance of graft rejection and infection. Allograft is processed and expensive material from organ donors.
The advantages to autograft is that there is availability of large quantities of bone without compromising the structure of the extremity. Autograft also has a greater chance of fusion success. Although autograft is a great option for harvesting bone graft there are two different forms of autograft. One is from the surgical site and the other is at the iliac crest. There are some disadvantages that come from obtaining bone from the iliac crest because it is an additional surgical site and causes persistent pain and numbness surrounding site. The procedure is added cost to an already costly surgery. Harvesting bone from the surgical site is a great option because there is much more bone available and it will save you money.