Macroporous calcium phosphate ceramic: a prospective study of 106 cases in lumbar spinal fusion

Macroporous biphasic calcium phosphate (MBCP, Triosite) is well known for its safety, absence of allergenicity, and excellent bone-bonding capacity, and it has been widely used as a bone graft substitute in orthopaedic, ENT, and dental surgery. This study investigates the clinical performance of this synthetic porous ceramic in a series of 106 patients, mainly with degenerative spine aetiologies (95/106) and with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. All patients were treated with posterior correction involving the semi-rigid New Orleans instrumentation. Spinal fusion was always performed using MBCP granules mixed with autogenous bone chips and bone marrow obtained from the local spine. Fusion of the spine was confirmed for 100 patients, and 6 non-unions were observed (3 resulting from primary spondylolisthesis). This study shows that MBCP provides suitable results in spinal fusion involving a semi-rigid instrumentation. Because the indication of degenerative spine is not very favorable to fusion, this technique appears to be a good alternative to autografts and could decrease patient morbidity resulting from iliac bone grafting.